Mindless vandalism.
 

Last night I was disturbed by the flashing lights of a police van and a fire engine at around 2am.

I've just asked my neighbour if he knew what had happened last night. Apparently vandals had a bonfife with all the benches and railings at Foxhill Bank nature reserve in Oswaldtwistle.

My neighbour is one of the volunteers who help maintain the infrastructure of the nature reserve, and he said at least £2,500 of damage has occured.

This is after the volunteers had all their work ripped up the day after they did it earlier in the year.

There isn't the finances to replace what has been burnt, therefore we now have a nature reserve with no benches, no handrail and no viewing platform for people to watch and enjoy the varied wildlife.

The vandals win again.:(

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

a tip for you, once contour homes takes on Hyndburn Homes, they need to apply for some community funding from them as usually there is a pot of money that is set aside to support things in the communities where they have housing!!!

As for the vandals who did this.................


YOU SICK $*%&*!!!!!! Grrrrrr :mad:

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Thanks Red, I'll pass that information on.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I don't know if anyone else is aware of this, but Ossy Mills, as part of their "sponsorship" package of Church & Ossy railway station have quite an elaborate CCTV system hooked up there which directly feeds back to their main building.

Many of you will have seen nature programes where hidden cameras are used to film the activities of various wildlife, so it would seem to me there is no contradiction between CCTV and a nature reserve.

What a marvellous investment opportunity, then, for Ossy mills to stick some CCTV (with night-infared vision) on the nature reserve. Not only could they have a direct feedback to their shopping complex (maybe stick in a large screen in the cafe area) but this would surely serve as a deterrent effect to the likes of the scum who did this.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

when we was down with the dog at weekend there was 2 = 16-17 year olds sat on the bench by the lake with a tray of 24 cans unopened and they were already drinking others,thought drinking in public was now taboo? we go frequently there and have never seen any kind of patrol,so cctv may be a valuble aid in catching scumbags, though the courts will be a valuble aid in letting them off, where the HELL are we at?

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

B*stards. To add to that, they nicked a bench from outside of my house to add to the bonfire - we wondered what had happened to it and now we know.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

We shouldn't give into them, but sadly finances say on this occasion, we have to.

When the trees aren't in leaf l can see the area they congregate from my bedroom window. Perhaps I should ask Father Christmas for a gun.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

These people really make my blood boil, its a complete lack of respect, due to lack of discipline, they need a good kickin, can we raise a bit of money at the next meet perhaps, raffle...? I know I would donate a bottle of something as well as a few naff items.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

When the trees aren't in leaf l can see the area they congregate from my bedroom window. Perhaps I should ask Father Christmas for a gun.[/QUOTE]

Only if its a 12 bore set on wide to get as many of the bu'''rs as possible. :p

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Why not a hand granade, then you can get the mindless yobs all a one go.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

the annoying thing is that if caught their parents probably wont care less what their kids have done :-(

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Lets start bonfires next to their homes at ungodly hours whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Their parents can then see how it feels when their little spats do to others. These 1/2 wits never start trouble on their own patch.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

You can't set bonfires next to their homes, it isn't their fault they do these things. When they were kids daddy pinched their lollipop so how can we expect the poor little b*stards to even attempt to live a normal life taking other people into account.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Woodscape at Church make fire retardant produce so that retards like these can’t always get their own way. This is obviously is a police matter and the usual whinging won’t resolve matters. I’ve never see this area but I would be interested in having a look round which I plan to do at weekend.

Again I would be more than happy to get involved with a community project to help put matters right, even throw a few bob at it if need be, but we have to involved HBC and local commercial interests to get realistic funding together…..any ideas? ……..Mrs Knight?

http://www.woodscape.co.uk/frame.htm

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

The way soceity is at the moment it was proberly the mum that stole the lollypop and hocked it for a batch bof skunk.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Just a note to the scum who set those fires last night ...you could have cost me my life and that of my son and my neighbours !

At 2pm i had cause to call out the fire brigade after i could smell burning in my flat. It smelt like plastic burning and i was worried i had an electrical fault somewhere ! I dialled 999 and the fire-brigade took 10 minutes to arrive. I was shocked seeing as i only live 2 streets away from the new station. The reason being Accy brigage was buisy dealing with your mess and i had to wait for crews to get to me from Blackburn and Great Harwood.

Thankfully it all turned out well .... count yourself lucky this time !

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

If something happens casualty wise because of the actions of a very bored Rodney then they should be charged if caught not only over the fire they started but with endagering other peoples lives. Unfortunate thing is the chances of it happing are nil. By the time DO GOODERS are finished the culprit will be made out to be a victim.

I am glad jimmi5bellies and his family neibourghs etc are ok but unfortunatly it shows the
state of affairs all to clearly.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

that certainly could have been an unforseen tragedy that these pieces of crap caused,just glad everyone is ok jimmie5bellies and family @neighbours,but it certainly highlights what else can happen.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I am glad jimmi5bellies and his family neibourghs etc are ok but unfortunatly it shows the
state of affairs all to clearly.[/QUOTE]

Jimmi is female for a start and for the second time in a week I have been woken by the smell of of smoke. It seems to be coming from the other side of the canal, but I cant be sure

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Mid Pennine have already contributed to a community project in the nature reserve, about three years ago. I wasn't with them then but by all accounts it was a difficult project to manage for a couple of reasons. Anyway, the output of it was a beautiful carved shelter type area and some willow weaving sculptures - all designed to be temporary but not as temporary as it turned out. Within one week, the sculptures were ripped down and the shelter had grafitti all over it. After another week when they'd tried to set the shelter on fire a couple of times it was taken down.

Another attempt at making the area nice with some more willow weaving a few months ago has probably gone up in smoke with the latest fire.

I live right next to the reserve as well and know all too well what goes on in there. Ironically, I had only spoken to our new community beat officer PC O'Boyle on Monday night about the general problems in the area. He is also well aware of them and is creating a heavier police presence around the area to deter them, unfortunately he can't be there all the time and certainly not at around 2 in the morning.

It's such an enclosed area that the kids can get in there without anyone seeing them and can hide out drinking and doing drugs in the knowledge that they're out of view.

I don't see it as so much a nature reserve problem as an issue that we have in general with the youths of the town. Because when we move them out of the nature reserve they shift up to rhyddings park and vice versa. We have to start communicating with them and providing something to give them some pride in the area instead of them wanting to vandalise everything. As an example, in Brierfield MPA did a project in one of the worst areas in the town for young disaffected asian men. MPA engaged them and got them to create a peace garden which they did with great pride. Five years later that garden is still there and in exactly the same condition. The guys who did it make sure that all the little old dears in the town feel comfortable using it and they make sure it's kept clean. They were invited down to a special party at the Eden project in Cornwall to talk about how they achieved this and why this small area of land has come to mean so much to the community and how it is looked after.

I'm not suggesting an arts project is the way to go here but we need something that they can own and take pride in, whether it's tree planting or art or something else and how we go about doing something like this in Oswaldtwistle I don't know but we have to do something soon or these thugs will start having kids themselves and instilling the same lack of pride in them.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Report from my bedroom window last night-

All quiet. Which is understanable, because the mindless numpties have burnt the benches they used to sit on. Like Gayle said though, they won't have stopped being anti-social, they'll have just gone to somewhere else that has benches for their sorry arses to rest on.

Again like Gaye said, something does need to be done to try and instill in these idiots some pride in our environment, which I don't think they have realised they live in as well.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I think I've seen the forming of a plan!

Today I had to shout at two different groups of 10/11/12 year old boys for two different reasons. The first ones were dead heading the hanging baskets and plants outside the Stop and Rest with big sticks and the second lot wandered into my back garden without asking (they said they were looking for the local lost cat but they'd mistaken my cat for it).

Anyway, I was cross with both groups for what was basically being inconsiderate. After I'd calmed down and started to think about it I began to think that they were just bored. Six weeks of holiday but they had nothing to do - the first group were roaming the streets looking for something to do and admittedly the second group thought they were doing something constructive by searching for the lost cat.

So, my point is that it is at that age that we need to reach the kids - we need football coaching, drama sessions, organised events, music lessons, and all manner of other things organised by the community and mostly free so that it doesn't exclude anyone.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

There used to be events all over the borough in the 6 week holidays. Punch and Judy e.t.c for young ones and games/activities for older ones. They were free! What happened to them? If the powers that be decided they were too expensive fine, but how much more is it costing in repairs to vandalised areas because the kids are bored.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Yes Debbie I recall the events that the council used to put on in the park (Gatty, Milnshaw etc) for kids on the main hols at this time of year. Heard advert on radio (2BR) for Hyndburn Sports Center and they charding £8.50 a day (inc lunch) for 8-12yo to attened adn swim and other sports. No free events have been planned by HBC as far as I'm aware.

Shame for the nature reserve know it quite well both through work and used to take kids there when they were young.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Slightly off track I know, but parents must bear some of the responsibility for their childrens actions.

Another example of vandalism is the damage mini motor bikes do to the sports fields.

I know of one well known business man who takes his primary school aged children to ride about on the Hey's football fields. He then retires to the pub, leaving his little darlings to plough up the fields whilst he ploughs into a beer. He isn't the only parent who lets their kids have these motor bikes and than lets them damage the sports fields.

One day, one member of a football team is going break their leg in one of the deep trenches that these bikes make.

I know one member on here who knows the father in question, perhaps they could inform him that the fields are now under surveilance, as the police are keen to gather any CCTV evidence which will lead to a prosecution if caught.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I also used to go to the playschemes organised for the summer holidays, and it was free. Used to go to the one on Highams playing field, did my cycling proficiency test etc. They are running football coaching sessions on Highams at the moment, don't know if it's free though but there seem to be plenty of boys and girls up there in the mornings when I'm walking my dog.:)

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Just a note.

The story of the fire at the nature reserve is in both tonight's Lancashire Evening Telegraph and this week's Accrington Observer.

Both papers have mistakes in their copy. The LET says the fire was started in the early hours of Monday, when it was in fact it was in the early hours of Tuesday. The Observer writes that a fisherman's hut had been destroyed in the blaze, when no such hut ever existed, and would anyway have been a bit odd at a nature reserve. So much for the accuracy of our local press.

The good news is that according to the LET, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust that run the site are seeking new funding to repair the viewing platform, and are determined not to let the vandals win.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I was just thinking has anyone got any photos of the nature reserve and can anyone take a shot so we can see the damage that’s been done by these idiots, I ask for the record as well as out of interest.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

There was a large photograpg of the damaged viewing platform in tonight's Lancashire Evening Telegraph. Sadly I can't find it on their website, sorry.

If you would like me to post the newspaper cutting to you, pm your address.

Thw nature reserve does has a website, whose address is foxhill-bank.org.uk

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Thanks for the link Rindy, keep hold of the clipping and have a look at it at the meet unless anyone comes up with one in the mean time. Can you give a description of the image? Is it really a mess or is it just a matter of replacing the items that were destroyed?

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

All the wooden railings down to the platform have gone, also the two wooden benches [along with Gayle's.]

The platform can't be repaired as it is unsafe. It was apparently made from wood and floated on recycled plastic, according to the newspaper.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Cheers Rindy. It’s not going to be cheap to put right then. By platform I take it that this is some kind of wooden decking or jetty out into the lake? …..was the area well used prior to this mindless act of stupidity?

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Very well used, l can look down on it from my house when the leaves aren't on the trees.

There are lots of old people who walk there with no where to sit now, and kids come everyday to feed the ducks.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

:) Its worth putting things right then……..what’s the response from HBC and the local MP? Any local businesses offering support or funding?

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I've scanned this picture from the LET - not brilliant quality but it gives you an idea of some of the damage.

I found a funding pot (yes, I know I'm getting a bit boring with this stuff now), that gives money to projects that work with young gangs and potential gun users. Now I know that technically we don't have a gun crime here but we do have issues with the local gun shop and so the two could be combined.

The funding does mostly work in inner cities where gun crime is rife but there might be the possibility of getting a few quid for starting something up in Ossy. We don't know until we apply.

I left a message for PC O'Boyle yesterday but he wasn't around so I haven't spoken to him yet as I think he'd be the right person to lead on this kind of thing - I haven't really got the time to manage it but I could help with the funding application and the set up.

If anyone can suggest specific projects that might be viable let me know and when I get chance to talk to PC O'Boyle I will do. By specific projects I mean an event or activity that would benefit the gangs but would also benefit the community and would help instill a bit of pride in the area.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

According to tonight's Lancashire Evening Telegraph, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust have decided not to rebuild the viewing platform at the Foxhill Bank Nature Reserve that was destroyed by vandal's fire.

Vandals-1 Community-0

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Why should a nature loving community suffer just because a minority has their brains in the rear of their boxers. This is extremely unfare what did you the nature lovers do to deserve this?
:(

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Although the platform won't be rebuilt because the same thing might happen again, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust are going to make the bank safer for people to view the birds and the like.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

perhaps we could have a collection for some stocks ..keep the scum where you can see them..

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Use the stocks in Huncoat they even have a cage perfect place for them:D

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

My neighbour, who I think is chairman of the friends of the nature reserve, nearly blew a gasket tonight.

At about nine o'clock I heard him angrily shouting into the darkness. Some idiots had set on fire the recently renovated railings, and benches, at the viewing area.

They also gave it a lot of verbal, knowing they were protected from my neighbour by a steep slope, and a brook.

The fire brigade arrived sharpish, so I don't know how much damage has been done by these sad little plonkers.

All I do know is that if my neighbour had caught them, justice really would have been dished out.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I agree, these days you have to ask, is the mindless stupidity in the destruction/damage/malicious act, or in the ensuing confrontation? I have always taken it upon myself to 'have a go' at these type of morons, but have found I think twice first these days, still usually get involved though! :pblink:

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

If its teenagers they want telling the cost of thing,s they wan,t telling it come,s out of there mum and dad,s money

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

A group of young yobs woke me at 1.30am last night, but they didn't hang about for long this time - probably because there is no public property available to be abused any more - the football changing huts were demolished a few weeks ago.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Did you know that a local football team is trying to raise money to build a new building and renovate the football field including fencing it all off?

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I am aware of the future plans for these fields. The amount of money needed is quite substantial, because the pitches need digging up and land drains installing, as well as the fencing and new changing facilities.
The high cost involved makes it more likely to take a looooooooong time.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Is this before or after the flogging that I propose willow?

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Peering through the trees the damage doesn't look that bad, though the new fences look charred black.

I guess it was lucky that my neighbour happened to see the fire when it did, or there would have been nowhere to sit and watch the ducks again, and walking down to feed then would have been dangerous without the new fences.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

It is rare, but I may disagree with you this time willow, these days, just for sheer devilment, some youths would go back and destroy something they had been forced to put right, like the asbo's and the tags, it would be seen as prestige amongst other idiots, if they were flogged, they would likely neither do it again, nor brag about it, if flogging is a bit severe, perhaps we could shave thier heads and paint it luminous green, with no chance of it washing off for months. Ooh i'm horrible. :pohmy:

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

scum bags ....

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

i,m not too sure about that, the Isle of Man for many years had Birching as a Deterant for drunken idiots, n can speak first hand, it stopped a drunken teenage Cashy ever visiting the island.:pwink: wonder how many more thought the same?

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

We do seem to be missing an effective deterrent.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I have an effective deterrent, Just have to catch the little darlings first!

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

But the 'darlings' know there's nothing you can do and even if you did catch them and give them a good hiding, you'd be the one up on an assault charge.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I would tell them I have put a 'hex' on them :D
They have all read Harry Potter and are numpty enough to think it could happen.

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Providing they know me, and if they did, I know that it would be a fine/compensation to the tune of about £100, I could probably get caught 'deterring' them 6 times before they considered a custodial sentence (I really wouldn't like that), then perhaps I would stop, sounds a bit like the little darlings attitude doesn't it? Fire with fire, and I would still do it while smiling, and me a pacifist! :prolleyes:

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

And me a witch (the only one in the village :D)

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

That can't be right, a village presumably contains more than one woman! Therefore, there has to be more witches! haha..oops :prolleyes:

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Where I live there is a plentiful supply of dog s**t which is a reasonable substitute for dragon's blood :D

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I just checked, and it definately says whisp! :psmile:

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Oh hey, no probs. I've got the dragon's blood too and some dragon scales! :D

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I ordered some pleurisy root only yesterday - want a bit of a swap?
(since you don't need doggy stuff :D)

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

But I haven't got pleurisy! :D

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

yep , thats true even the Gorbals mobs from Glasgow had second thoughts about starting any bother when they were on the Isle of Man (they had the same wakes weeks as Accrington) and it was all day drinking as well :pwink:

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Doesn't slow em down much when they go back to Glasgow though eh? OOh! Had some good tumbles, err nights out in Glasgay!!

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

maybe not , but it's just proof about it having the desired effect of being a deterent to bad behaviour in places where it is/was used .

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

Absolutely, and that is why i'm all for it!

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

its simple to me, Cashy knows it works, suggest those that were not as nuts are only supposing.;)

Re: Mindless vandalism.
 

I think we should all go chav fishing, its like normal fishing except you dont use a rod. When you spot a trouble maker you simply tackle them to the floor and hog-tie them, then at the end of the day you take them all to one place and have a bonfire, using them as the wood.