VANDALS daubing obscene graffiti and youngsters accidentally damaging a climbing frame could delay a £400,000 facelift to a Worcestershire recreation ground.

The wrecking of the facilities in Eckington last weekend has seriously dented a regeneration programme for the area.

A wooden log tower with a chain bridge has been completely up-ended, while filthy and crude graffiti scrawls completely covered one side of the Scout hut.

Richard Forest, committee member for Eckington Recreational Centre Trust, which leases the area from the parish council, has taken temporary measures by taping off the damaged site and daubing out the spray paint.

With a budget of £3,000 per year, he feels the trust may struggle to find funds to improve the children's play area in the near future.

And the charity's plans of a £400,000 Lottery bid for a new cricket pavilion and multi-purpose facilities could now be delayed.

"My son and a group of his friends painted over the graffiti yesterday," said Mr Forest.

"It was full of crude messages and pictures. We removed that quickly because a lot of young children and toddler groups use the area.

"And, luckily, a parent frogmarched his sons up my drive yesterday evening.

"They admitted they were too old and big for the equipment - they had been bouncing on the bridge and collapsed it.

"I've now told the police it was purely an accident, but we are still looking into the graffiti."

"What makes it all the more demoralising is that we were just about to start a two-year project on the new facilities and put in a Lottery bid. This repair work could really dent our own funds.

The graffiti occurred between 8pm on Saturday, May 11 and 8.30am on Sunday May 12.

Anyone with information can contact Worcester police on 01905 72388 quoting crime reference c/585745.