Residents help clear up vandalism in skate bowl

Vandals had tipped out dustbins and hanging baskets from a nearby housing estate meaning that nobody could use the Mayflower Skate Bowl.

However, residents, including Mick Ralph Sims, helped clear up the vandalism so that everyone could use the bowl again.

Mick said: “I went down there with my friend, his son and my son and helped to clean it all up.

“It was pouring down with rain so we felt that we could just sit at home and do nothing or go out and help clean up.

“We cleared away glass and brushed up all the mess because the skate park is as much for adults as it is for the kids.

“My son was with me and as we finished off, the sun started to come out and two kids went into the bowl. He turned to me and said if we hadn’t gone down and tidied up then those children would have had a really boring time. I think it made him feel really good about himself.

“There is no solution other than CCTV and obviously that costs too much money. We will continue to come down here and clean it up for the community.”

Angmering Parish Council also sent members of staff down to the skate bowl to clear the vandalism.

Rob Martin, clerk at Angmering Parish Council, said: “We sent a few members of staff to clear up the big things including bins and then members of the public went down to clean up the rest.

“We are very proud of those people that helped out because this vandalism is costing the tax payer a lot of money.

“The vandalism has gone on for some time now and we have reported the incidents to the police but there isn’t much they can do about it.

“We are very frustrated and I can only imagine how frustrated residents must be getting.

In 2014, A-Level students from Angmering School united with Brighton-based graffiti artist Leon Nankivell to brighten up the skate bowl, in Mayflower Park, in a bid to deter vandalism.

Mr Martin added: “The idea of the graffiti painting was to deter vandalism but it is an ongoing problem.

“The vandals will just wait for us to clean up the area before returning to do it all again.”

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