Myrtle Park in Bingley is a delightful place with something for everybody. Its bandstand has recently been restored. It has a fine new children’s playground and a small menagerie. There are bowling greens and a basketball court, flower beds and an extensive meadow bounded by the river for picnics, ball games and outdoor musical events.

But there is another, unwelcome ingredient: a group of young people whose anti-social antics are making life unpleasant for other park users.

We are used to reporting various manifestations of yob behaviour. Setting fire to trees, though, is something new. It is sickening that five should have been torched in the park in as many days.

The sheer stupidity of it beggars belief. Apart from the damage caused to the trees themselves, disfiguring the landscape of the park, there is the risk involved to the youths and to others. In one incident a tree was set alight only yards away from the hut where bowlers were holding their weekly meeting.

Fires are unpredictable. Flames from a burning bush can spread quickly to other trees and nearby buildings. What starts as a “bit of a laugh” can become a serious blaze with the potential to lead to tragedy.

This minority of anti-social youngsters need to be stopped before they can do more damage. The police have promised to increase patrols in the area and work with the park rangers. But it might also help if the many law-abiding young people who enjoy the park could bring some peer pressure to bear on the vandals by letting them know that their behaviour is unacceptable not just to adults but to everyone.