PARTS of Harrogate's famous Valley Gardens, which helped the town win the Europe in Bloom award two years ago, are being turned into impromptu football pitches by youths, it is claimed.

Lilian Mina, chairwoman of Harrogate Civic Society, has taken up the issue with the borough council's parks department, who are working with North Yorkshire Police to tackle the problem.

Mrs Mina's intervention comes as police announced they were mounting extra patrols in the gardens after reports of vandalism and graffiti.

Mrs Mina says she was constantly saddened and annoyed by the "thoughtless anti-social behaviour" of some people, who insist on using the gardens as a sports field.

When she recently remonstrated with footballers who had been deliberately using the ball to knock off the heads of flowers, they said they were doing nothing wrong.

Mrs Mina said: "I have nothing against football, but not when it is played surrounded by flower beds that take a great deal of time and effort to create.

"This was happening a few hundred yards from The Stray, where they could play in open space to their hearts content."

The chairwoman said: "Having raised my concerns with the footballers I am afraid I had to back off. I had expressed my concerns but felt that was as far as I could go."

Meanwhile, the council and police are working together in an attempt to stem the anti-social behaviour and damage.

Recently, £2,500 worth of damage was caused to the bandstand by vandals who sprayed it with graffiti, while the nearby Sun Pavilion also suffered a graffiti attack.

Police appealed for anyone with information to contact or them on 0845 60 60 247 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.