We live next to Britain's worst playground that’s littered with broken glass and needles – our kids are at risk | The Sun
PARENTS claim they live next to Britain's worst playground after vandals litter it with broken glass and needles.
The park in Nottingham has been subjected to years of abuse from youths making it a no-go zone for families.
Local mum Katie Keating, 38, was left horrified after visiting what was once a "beautiful" playground with her kids and seeing broken equipment and graffiti.
Urging for something to be done, the mum-of-two has since been involved in fundraising to have a bolted 2.4metre fence put up.
She said: "Last Christmas I visited the park and was horrified by what I found.
"The basket swing was broken as was the roundabout and there was graffiti on the equipment and broken glass.
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"It is a beautiful little playground but it needs to be cared for which is why I set up the Friends of King George V Rec and Park group.
"We got funding and the first step is to secure the playground so it is only used by the youngsters it was set up for.
"If we don’t enclose it then we could spend thousands on new equipment only for it to be vandalized the next day."
Desperation for locals to get behind her was soon ramped up when teenagers allegedly set up camp behind the park bushes and made a fire this summer.
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With help from the National Lottery, Katie has manged to raise £10,000.
Admitting there is a "big drug problem in the area", Katie said the low police presence only makes matters worse.
She said: "We do a weekly litter pick now and have found broken glass and drug paraphernalia.
"The council are down there every week cleaning off graffiti but we have to stop being so reactive.
"I’m afraid the police are not doing enough. Because of the low police presence there are a lot of young people who don’t feel safe in the park.
"People from county lines drug gangs are using it and I know of teenagers being threatened with knives.
"These are not normal teenagers.
"They have been excluded from schools and are just hanging around without education or employment. There is also a big drug problem in the area."
'VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION'
Other residents have praised her actions after having had enough and called for change.
Alan Wainwright, 57, whose house backs onto the park, said: "My wife and I went to bed in August and could hear a lot of noise coming from the park.
"I woke up at 4am, looked out and realised there was a fire on the other side of our back wall.
"When I went to look, they were ripping the wooden cladding off our wall and lobbing it onto their fire.
"These were kids of about 13 to 15 years of age. I shouted at them and they gave me some abuse back and it was only when I went round to confront them that they ran off.
"I rang the police twice to tell them what was happening but they didn’t respond.
"It was a very dangerous situation because back then everything was tinder dry.
"The night before they were camped out with bedding and pillows and duvets and they set fire to all these things.
"We’ve lived here for many years and this is the worst I have ever known it."
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Local councillor Paul Feeney, who has backed the efforts of the park Friends group, said: "There has been anti-social behaviour and a bit of petty vandalism caused by teenage children going into the playground.
"We are very grateful to Katie for mobilizing volunteers to help make the park a better place.
"The Council would like to do more but we have had to cut the number of park staff from 15 to seven so this is bound to have an impact."
He said the council had recently removed the bushes in the park where the fires were happening.
A Gedling Borough Council spokesperson said: “The park has been subject to a number of anti-social behaviour incidents including offensive graffiti in the children’s play area.
"The local councillors and residents are looking at ways to reduce that and have secured funding for some green open mesh fencing to go around the play area that, we hope, will reduce the anti-social behaviour by making it harder to enter the play area at night, whilst still allowing access to the rest of the park for children.
"This is something we will be monitoring closely.
"We are very supportive of the community’s proactive approach to the upkeep of their local park and we will work with them to make sure it is a safe place for children to enjoy and also look at other options to improve the park further going forward.”
Nottinghamshire Police reassured locals antisocial behaviour was one of the force's priorities in the area.
Inspector Mark Stanley said: "Tackling and reducing antisocial behaviour is one of our local policing priorities and regular patrols are carried out in hotspot areas.
"I’d like to reassure the people of Carlton that we are listening to what they are telling us and taking action to address those issues they have told us matter most to them.
"It’s really important public play areas are available for everyone to use and enjoy, which is why we work hard with our partners to prevent damage to open spaces.
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"We continue to work closely with the council on problem-solving and we are not afraid to take robust action against those whose behaviour has an adverse impact on the wider community.
"I would encourage anyone who is concerned about antisocial behaviour in their area to please give us a call on 101 and let us know about it so we can take appropriate action."
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