Outrage over litter and vandals at Darwen park (From Blackburn Citizen)

Outrage over litter and vandals at Darwen park

9:00pm Tuesday 30th June 2009

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A DARWEN park has been trashed with litter and its playground closed after being vandalised.

The Friends of Bold Venture Park and visitors have been left disgusted by the litter and general untid-iness in which the park, off Bolton Road, was left over the weekend.

And the group is now urging people to do their bit and throw all rubbish in the bin to improve the state of the park.

The playground itself, which had a £150,000 invest-ment and was opened last year, has also had to be closed while repairs take place.

Harry Duxbury, 70, chairman of the Friends Bold Venture Park, said: “We have a constant battle with litter on the park, which has only got worse since the new playground opened.

“There's takeaway wrap-ping and supermarket pack-aging all over it.”

“I'm obviously disappointed, and we ask people to be more consid-erate with what they do with their litter.

“Thankfully, the council are doing as much as they can in the circumstances and have provided several new bins at the entrance to the park, on the lake and next to the playground.

“The problem doesn’t lie with them, but with the general public.”

Former Darwen Football Club manager Bill Stemp, of Belgrave Road, who uses the park regularly, said: “The amount of litter left over from the weekend is disgust-ing.

“People have been taking advantage of the warm weather with picnics and drinks but many have left their debris on the grass, on the paths, in flower-beds, in the lake and on the new playground, which is now closed due to vandalism.

“I've been living here for 25 years and I feel like I’ve been banging my head against a brick wall.

“The litter problem has been getting worse all the time with people going for picnics just throwing their rubbish all over the place and teenagers drinking on the new playground.

“It’s also on paths, verges and around the boating lake.

“There's dog mess all over the park as well. I have two grandchildren and I worry every time they play on it in case they fall in some.

Coun Michael Law-Riding, executive member for leisure and culture at Black-burn with Darwen Council, said: “The litter in Bold Venture Park is removed daily and the area is regularly maintained.

“The council is actively involved in schemes to reduce littering in the borough but there is only so much we can do.

“The playground has been closed whilst a piece of play equipment is repaired.”

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