THE trial of two schoolboys accused of setting fire to a charity’s adventure playground has collapsed, after key witnesses failed to turn up to court to give their evidence.

The 15-year-old and 13-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been due to stand trial at Bradford Youth Court in December, but despite one young witness attending, the case was adjourned due to legal issues with video evidence being played.

The teenagers had been accused of committing arson in September 2018, causing £50,000 of damage to Eccleshill Adventure Playground.

As the case was resumed yesterday, it emerged that neither of the two young witnesses central to the prosecution were able to attend court.

After prosecutor David Ward failed in his bid to request a further adjournment, he was left with no option but to offer no evidence in the case.

Mr Ward told the court: “In the light of this, I have been instructed to apply for an adjournment, and if that fails, I would have to offer no evidence.”

He added that it was inappropriate to summons the witnesses to court in light of their age and that without them he could not present his case.

Solicitors for the two defendants argued that it was unfair to further delay the case through no fault of their own, particularly given their young age.

One added that the length of time since the original incident would mean both the witnesses’ and defendants’ recollection would be “vague”.

The other added that any further delay would be “scandalous”.

Chairman of the bench, Sue Lamb, said: “We are not prepared for another adjournment. We have listened to the facts about the age of the case and of the defendants.”

The move has frustrated those who run the adventure playground, who fear no one will ever be brought to justice for destroying part of the their popular community venue.

Manager Janet Jewitt told the Telegraph & Argus that they were disappointed that nobody will be "held legally responsible" for the attack, adding: "Whilst the charity has moved on and we give thanks to a number of funding bodies, including the Gannett Foundation, which helped us rebuild, this incident was nonetheless disabling for some months as we lost vital revenue, which helps to maintain the service.

"We have however, drawn a line under this episode and remain open for business as usual. We welcome existing and new visitors to come and play on the new structure and eagerly await the construction of our new building, hopefully in time for summer 2020."

Firefighters were called to the area, which is also known as the Big Swing Adventure Playground, at 7pm on September 3, 2018, where an indoor play space dubbed the “hobbit house” was alight.

The incident destroyed the building, which was made from straw and timber and included a kitchen and pool table, and the remainder had to be knocked down.

In the immediate aftermath, Bradford firm Uriah Woodhead stepped in to donate timber to help them get back on their feet.

Shortly before Christmas in 2018, the scheme received a boost as it was awarded a grant of £8,795 from the T&A’s US parent company Gannett to construct a new outdoor play structure on the site of the destroyed “hobbit house”.

That work is expected to be finished this summer.

The adventure playground, which operates as a charity and delivers free adventure play sessions across the district, bot out-of-school and in the school holidays, is also known as “Bradford’s Big Swing” thanks to its enormous rope swing.