WORK has started on the first stage of a £400,000 project to revamp rundown public gardens plagued by vandalism.

Organisers want to return Burn Valley Gardens, in Hartlepool, to its former glory.

The first part of the regeneration scheme will be the replacement of the old play area in the lower part of the gardens.

The work on the play area will cost £140,000 and take about eight weeks.

The gardens, which helped win the town a Britain in Bloom title in the 1960s, have been affected by high levels of vandalism in recent years.

Rob Emmerson, chairman of the Burn Valley Rejuvenation Consortium, has played lawn bowling in the grounds of the gardens for a number of years.

He said: "We have definitely had problems with gangs of youths congregating in the gardens.

"This has resulted in vandalism to the play area and a general deterioration in the state of the park. A decision was taken to do something about this and, two years ago, our group was set up."

Mr Emmerson said that a feasibility study was carried out, which included the views of local residents.

He said the renovation work only involved the lower part of the gardens, but that the cost of improving the whole gardens could be more than £1m.

The £400,000 is being provided by New Deal for Communities, the Community Safety Capital Fund and the Central Neighbourhood Forum.

Mr Emmerson said: "I've spoken to a lot of local people and the consensus has been that it is a terrible shame the gardens have been left to get into this state. We want to turn that around."

The new play area will contain a range of the latest play equipment, which will be surrounded by a soft safety surface.

The whole area will be surrounded by a fence, with a gate that will be locked at night.

The project has been devised by Hartlepool Borough Council, working with the Burn Valley Rejuvenation Consortium.