VANDALS who tore up young trees in a Guisborough park have been condemned by sickened residents.

Elderly people who use the park at Stumps Cross were in tears at the scene of destruction in Westgate park last Friday morning.

And former town mayor Mr Bob Hoggarth said: "We are used to seeing litter and such around there but this is too much."

Redcar and Cleveland council says a lot of money has been spent trying to combat vandalism in the park - with considerable success.

"We hope this was just a blip," said group infrastructure manager Mr Brian McLean.

Mr Hoggarth, who is 69, saw the damage as he took his morning walk in the park.

"Young trees had been ripped up and were just strewn around," he said.

"Regular visitors to the park were in tears when they saw what had happened.

"It is heartbreaking when other people in Guisborough are working so hard to make the town look nice.

"The council is doing its best to make the place attractive and they were really nice young trees there."

Mr Bill Carter, a resident, saw youths doing the damage as he checked out some garages behind the park.

"They are just riff-raff," he said. "They sit and drink and then cause damage. They did this just for the fun of it and the council has to come and clear up.

Mr Hoggarth said: "If I had seen them I would be in jail now for my actions."

Both men said they feared for their grandchildren with such people around.

Mr Carter said: "I have seen Guisborough change in the 30 years I have been here. The kids who did this were only about 13 or 14."

Mr Hoggarth said the culprits were just a minority.

"Most young people are people their parents can be proud of. This is a small percentage causing the trouble," he said.

Mr McLean confirmed that council workmen had been quick to tidy up the damage.

He said the park had been plagued by vandals over recent years. "We have spent quite a lot of money trying to combat this and until recently we had considerable success," he said.

"It appears this was a blip and we hope that is the case. We have worked with residents and community groups to re-landscape the area and to tackle vandalism.

"It is distressing to see the sort of damage which was done last Thursday."

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