VANDALS have targeted a famous Droitwich landmark, just a month after it was renovated.

On Thursday evening (July 6) the Wych Barge in Vines Park, Droitwich was attacked by hooligans who damaged the lettering, paintwork and the end board.

Wychavon District Council is now forced to pay for the repair, estimated to cost about £300, but the exact figure is not yet known.

Lynn Stevens, parks officer at Wychavon District Council, said: “We can always think of better things to spend our residents money on rather than repairing vandalism – it’s just completely thoughtless.”

She added: “During the spring we did some repair work to bring it back up to standard, so to have it vandalised so soon after the repairs is really demoralising to our staff who work so hard to keep the parks looking good.”

Repairs to the Wych Barge will be undertaken as soon as possible.

The life-size replica of the Wych Barge, which transported salt along the waterways, has a seating and a play area.

It was was installed as part of the canal restoration back in 2011 and was partially designed by local residents and funding for the structure came from the People’s Millions lottery project.

Vines Park covers an area of old brine workings and has a statue of St Richard the patron saint of Droitwich.

The park was awarded Green Flag status for the first time in 2013 to 14, then again for each year since.

The canal was opened on July 1 2011 by Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, after many years of restoration work.

Anyone with any information or who sees any kind of damage to equipment in parks can report it to Wychavon District Council on 01386 565018.

Vandalism can also be reported to West Mercia Police on 101.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit their website at crimestoppers-uk.org.

For more information on the park go to wychavon.gov.uk/vinespark.