Residents in The Bay have been subjected to a wave of vandalism and anti-social behaviour since the start of the recent lockdown, according to Sandown’s Mayor.
Local town and parish councils have had to bear the brunt of the costs of repair and replacement associated with such vandalism.
Sandown Town Council has seen on-going graffiti and damage at its Sandham Gardens play area and skatepark, as well as it’s St John’s Road toilets. Now, the town council are considering introducing CCTV to Sandham Gardens and Grounds to protect the amenity which costs several hundreds of thousands of pounds to install.
Town Mayor Gary Young said:
“It is very sad to see equipment vandalised and public property subject to graffiti, impacting on young users of the playground and also putting our contractors at risk.
“Increased vandalism is impacting on the limited resources of our Council, and those of other councils on the Island, and also adds to the demands on the Police which are already stretched at this time”.
Deputy Mayor Paul Brading added:
“To see this level of anti-social behaviour at any time is disappointing, during a pandemic when the Island community is facing significant challenges, is unacceptable and we would ask all members of the public to report any incidents they witness”.
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This is Isle of Wight UK Not USA… do not want ugly TAGS or any tags on our streets.. Stop the gangs now before it gets worse please!!
The chief constable wants an extra £15 “tax”. Will that stop vandalism, nah!!
Cut child allowance and child tax credits, then ONLY wanted children would be born. Contraception is free for those too poor to support their own choice of having a child that they couldn’t afford yet expect OTHERS to fund it, and they are no longer needed by society as unemployment rises, and hi tech means ‘cannon fodder’ is no longer required.
They should put up CCTV but not advertise the fact.
Yes agree and much firmer consequences for those who think it is ok to sqrawl this rubbish all over the place making the island look like a ghetto. This is not London or the States.
O dear O dear when will you all learn that all this is due to complete boredom from kids that have just nothing to do! We are in a lockdown and the powers that be have decided that we cannot mix and must stay at home hence what are the kids going to do stuck in a flat with mum and dad or even a broken home with constant days of bickering or even abuse! These kids need a place like a meeting point where they can meet up in safety and even learn new things but this wont happen under a lockdown! but even when its over there is just nothing for the kids to do! When I was young and grew up on the island we had youth clubs and we even visited other island youth clubs for competitions etc it was great fun and completely safe! Businesses and councils should get their heads together and recreate this type of venture for the kids lets face it there is enough derelict buildings in the bay where they could meet and even assist in tidying the very sad looking area up!
graffiti is not down to boredom. it takes effort. the people that did this had to obtain the spray paint, probably by stealing it, then had to go find a surface to do it on.
Kids have plenty to do if they put their minds to it. Go climb a tree, go out on a bike ride, go for a walk, build a den in the woods. Parents – go with them. Engage with your kids instead of telling them to keep quiet and go away.
Society does not owe kids fun. Youth clubs would be no help as if they existed they would be shut down during lockdown.
Do you work for Social Services?
Agree, put these bored kids to good use……yeah right, I don’t think so. In an ideal world maybe. All these kids want to do is hang around out on the streets at night and and cause trouble by sqribbling stupid dumb ass tags everywhere. If they’ve had a decent upbringing they would/should know this is wrong
How come the parent or parents of these little sh*TS are allowing their kids out to defile walls and buildings??? Take responsibility for your kids, be a decent parent and keep them in at night because this graffiti or tags are sure as hell not being done during the day.