No skate park until vandalism stops, says mayor

"How can we access money when we have this problem?" she asked. "As soon as the skateboard park was built it would get trashed."

She pointed out that vandals had damaged the dugouts on the playing field and tried to burn them. They had also been breaking street lights and throwing stones at the church windows.

In the nearby village of East Witton there will be no firework display next week because vandals had recently caused thousands of pounds worth of damage when they threw rocks at the church windows.

"Vandalism is a community responsibility and not something the council or the police can deal with on their own," said Coun Tolhurst. "The whole community has to be involved. Until the vandalism stops we will all lose out."

A new petition requesting a skateboard park for youngsters was handed in this month.

Coun Tolhurst said they could live with youthful mischief.

"But what is going on is sheer wilful vandalism," she said.

It was suggested at the last town council meeting that residents should be given films so that they could photograph the vandals in the act of causing damage. This would help the police catch and prosecute the offenders.

Raye Wilkinson and two others have offered to organise activities at the sports field pavilion as a way of providing something for the youth in Middleham.

But the cyber cafe, and other Wensleydale Community Education activities at the town hall, will finish in November.

The councillors were told that for many months the town hall had not been properly locked up after any of these events. If the town hall had then been broken into, the insurance company would not have paid for anything stolen or broken.

It was also reported that during one adult literacy evening someone had made a phone call to Brazil which cost £7.18. An attempt had also been made to access the council's computer. It was therefore agreed to give Wensleydale Community Education one month's notice.