Arsonists torched a playground climbing frame overnight, burning it to a crisp.
The damage to the play unit in Queens Park was discovered by council officers this morning.
It has now been barriered off until the site can be made safe.
Brighton and Hove City Council said the damage will be “devastating to the families who use it,” adding it is reviewing CCTV footage and are liaising with Sussex Police.
It’s estimated the cost of the damage is between £25,000 and £30,000. The council hopes to be able to replace the equipment by the summer.
Councillor Alan Robins, Cabinet Member for Sport and Recreation, said: “This is a disgusting act of arson.
“I simply cannot understand why anyone would want to damage a children’s playground. We’ve worked hard to try and make play facilities across the city fun and enjoyable for children, only to have that ruined by a mindless act of vandalism.
“I’d urge anyone with information about who may have done this to contact Sussex Police. We’ll be working as quickly as we can to replace the damaged equipment.”
The Queens Park play area was part of a £3 million pound revamp of our playgrounds in 2023.
If anyone has any information, contact Sussex Police on 101.
There certainly are some morons around, in my opinion they have forfeited their right to live. At the very least they should be banished from Brighton, unless they can cough up the £30.000. Hope the culprits are caught and punishment delivered.
What a ridiculous comment
There certainly are some around indeed. Some of them comment on Brighton & Hove News.
The general lack of respect for morals and the rule of law is sadly reflected by a government esposing so called british values? .. values devoid of morality!
Without a moral code society breaks down!
A century ago britain reflected Christian values.. values which underpin the rule of law.
Its sad how far society has departed from the rule of law, its prisons overcrowded.
I agree…personally….I’d find who it was and ship them abroad…. maybe Ukraine…. front line as payment and a lesson for what they did …make a man of them instead of absolute brainless thugs
‘If’ this was caused by teenagers & if identified, take away all of their entertainment for a minimum 3 months including phones, Netflix, bikes, sports memberships etc etc – .
If it was adults, garnish their income until £30,000 is paid off as well as take them to court to mark their card.
There needs to be a lot more jeopardy to stop such blatant vandalism of our City.
Or, we can rely on the well-established Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999)…
Garnish their income?
Most likely was a group of chavs very sad news I love queens used to take my nephew up there daily
Indeed they do.
I really hope the perpetrators of this despicable attack are caught and brought to justice. Please contact Sussex Police on 101 if you have any information
No doubt the idiots who did it, probably videoed themselves doing it, and will no doubt post it on social media
The best way to make kids and their families do something about this is naming and shaming. If you commit criminal damage you need to face society and be held to account. The parents have clearly given up if their kids are just allowed to go feral and fear no consequences, so they also need to be named. This would act as a future deterrent.