Vandals have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to decorative lighting put up just last year to improve a town centre.

The Jubliee Lights were installed to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and were part of a £40,000 spend on all-year round ‘Christmas’ lights along The Grove in Ilkley.

But in the early hours of Saturday morning vandals caused damage to lights in nine trees along The Grove and the bandstand by cutting wires.

An irate resident reported the damage to Ilkley Parish councillor and Bradford Council ward member for Ilkley, Mike Gibbons who organised for Council engineers to attend to make the lights safe.

The damage was also reported to the police who have vowed to pursue the people responsible for the crime.

Ilkley Parish Council chairman Heathcliffe Bowen said: “We are extremely disappointed that someone has chosen to vandalise the lights. The matter has been reported to the police and it will be pursued with the full force of the law.”

Coun Bowen said he understood the lights were fully functioning at around midnight on Friday and the damage was caused some time in the early hours of Saturday.

“Someone has got up into the trees and cut the wires. It was a trailing wire which alerted residents,” he said and added: “If whoever did this is local it is an own goal because it is them or their families who will have to pay to repair or replace the lights.”

Coun Gibbons said it was not clear if the damage was caused by drunken yobs with a knife or someone who went out in a determined effort to cause as much damage as possible.