Vandals have trashed a community garden used by families in crisis.
Eight years of hard work by a team of dads who use Kirkcaldy’s Cottage Family Centre has been destroyed by youths who broke in last weekend and caused an estimated £2,000 of damage.
While workers at the project are used to discovering broken glass and other damage to the garden when they arrive on a Monday morning, they were devastated to discover the extent of the latest wrecking spree.
A polytunnel was ripped open, a newly-pained bird table smashed to bits and a large wooden caterpillar broken.
The Cottage in Cawdor Crescent provides a range of support services to vulnerable children and families in Kirkcaldy and the garden is especially popular with those who don’t have their own outside space.
Senior family worker Lana Moffat said youngsters would be unable to use it until it had been repaired.
“They can’t go out and the dads who created the garden are getting disheartened,” she said.
“We have a lot of families who use this garden because they don’t have a garden of their own.
“We also provide free lunches in the summer for families in crisis or on low income and normally parents take the kids into the garden for a picnic but unfortunately we’ve not been able to do that this week.”
The garden is also used by pupils at nearby Valley and Fair Isle primary schools during term time and repairs are continually having to be made to ensure it is safe for them.
“We’ve had a problem for quite some time at weekends,” said Lana.
“The garden is securely locked and we have high fences and CCTV but they’re still sneaking in and using it to drink.
“This time, anything that’s a feature has been broken and smashed.”
Thanks to the CCTV and community involvement, a number of people thought to be responsible for the latest wrecking spree have been reported to the police.
Lana has urged people living nearby who see or hear anything suspicious at weekends to contact officers as soon as possible.
“The damage that occurred in this instance will cost at least £2,000 to repair but the greatest cost is to our children and families who will be unable to use the garden until it is restored.”
