POLICE are investigating after a playground was broken into and an arson attack unleashed.
The Big Swing Adventure Playground, in Eccleshill, has been forced to stop sessions due to the damage - but the team there has spoken of the "amazing" support it has received.
They shared the news in a Facebook post and said: "Sorry to start off your week in not the most positive way, however there will be no play sessions this week as there was some out-of-hours, anti-social behaviour that happened over the weekend.
"As you can see, some people broke into the playground and lit a fire on the football pitch at the top of site.
"Not only was this really dangerous (as tyres were used), we will now have to use a lot of time, energy & resources to clear it up in time for our summer season (our busiest time of year).
"We are in contact with the police and have CCTV across the playground and we will be in touch with anyone who we see in the footage. If you have any info that could help us, please do get in touch."
Play Bradford Manager Janet Jewitt told the Telegraph & Argus: “We’re really devastated about this recent arson attack at The Big Swing Adventure Playground as it has meant that we have had to stop sessions this week and use precious time and resources in order to clean up the damage.
"We discourage out-of-hours activity altogether, as it’s not safe for people to be on-site without being supervised by our staff team.
"Saying this, it has been amazing to see so much support from our local community and it truly brings home how united this locality can be in times of trouble.
"We are so grateful for our Play Bradford team members, who are working really hard to ensure the site is suitable so we can resume our play activities in time for our busiest time of year - the summer holidays.”
The cruel attack comes just days after Councillor Brendan Stubbs (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) spoke of his grave concerns over issues in the BD2 and BD10 areas.
Speaking after the incident at the playground, he said: "Police are collecting information on these people and they will eventually the evidence they need to take these people to court.
"There's no excuse for that sort of behaviour."
A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "We are investigating an arson at Eccleshill Play Site on Harrogate Road on July 3.
"Enquiries are ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact police via the report it options at www.westyorkshire.police.uk/contactus or via 101 quoting crime reference 13220361152."
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