HEARTLESS vandals set fire to a scooter in an historic Wirral park, destroying expensive gym equipment in the process and leaving the local authority with a bill of thousands of pounds.

Visitors to Birkenhead Park discovered the heartbreaking sight on Tuesday morning, with Wirral Council condemning those responsible for the “mindless act”.

Police officers were called to the park at around 7.20am after a member of the public found the scooter – believed to have been stolen – destroyed by a fire close to the outdoor exercise equipment.

One of the exercise stations – installed in 2013 and understood to have cost in the region of £3,000 – was damaged by the blaze and will now need replacing by the council.

Photographs taken by dog walker Elaine Flanagan show the extent of the damage, which also included offensive graffiti. Broken bottles and glass was also left strewn around the site of the fire.

She said: “I’m absolutely disgusted by it and it seems we can’t have anything nice in our park without it being destroyed.”

Councillor Chris Meaden, Wirral’s cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, said: “It beggars belief that anyone could do something so mindless and irresponsible, destroying valuable and well-used fitness equipment and committing acts of vandalism in areas where families visit and in areas that are of considerable local and historical significance.

“We’ll be liaising with the police closely over these incidents, making every effort to identify who is responsible and doing what we can to prevent similar incidents happening again.

“If anyone has any information about what happened, I’d urge them to report it to the police.”

The scooter has since been removed and police are continuing their investigations.

Sergeant Daniel Murphy said: “While our officers were in attendance at the scene of this incident, older members of the community arrived to use the equipment and were clearly unable to do so.

“This is a valued and well-used area of Birkenhead Park, the enjoyment of which has been spoiled by a mindless act of vandalism.

“We are keen to speak to anyone who may have information that can help us with our enquiries and would urge anyone who saw any suspicious behaviour in the park overnight on Monday, into Tuesday.”

One of Merseyside Police’s priorities in Wirral this summer is addressing the high-level of anti-social behaviour which tends to occur when the nights are light and weather is warm.

Sgt Murphy added: “We want everyone to feel able to enjoy the summertime and not have to worry about the anti-social actions of others.

“Neighbourhood officers will be paying plenty of attention to the town’s green spaces to ensure they remain safe and pleasant places for youngsters to play.

“Where we witness anti-social behaviour or criminal damage we will take action using the resources we have available.”

  • Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact Merseyside Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.