YOBS went on a 'mindless' vandalism spree wrecking hanging baskets and a flower-filled boat. Vandals in Worle struck twice within days causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage. A community leader has condemned the criminals and criticised the police fo

YOBS went on a 'mindless' vandalism spree wrecking hanging baskets and a flower-filled boat.Vandals in Worle struck twice within days causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage. A community leader has condemned the criminals and criticised the police for failing to catch the culprits.Over-flowing hanging baskets in Worle High Street were targeted on Saturday night (July 22) with yobs clambering about 12 feet up lampposts to wrench them down. The baskets were damaged and left abandoned on the pavements. It is feared residents and shoppers will not see the colourful containers again until the end of summer as it will take at least four weeks for the plants to re-establish themselves.Flowers were also ripped out of three large pebble pots on the High Street outside Lloyds Bank.The senseless spree continued on Tuesday evening when the boat in the middle the roundabout in Bristol Road near Sainsbury's was vandalised.Nearly all of the plants in the brightly painted vessel were tugged out and hurled away.The baskets and boat were planted up by Flower Power volunteers and were inspected by Britain in Bloom judges last month as part of the town's entry into the national competition.Weston Town Council deputy leader David Evans said: "This was just mindless yobbery and makes me think why should we bother."Some idiots took the trouble to climb up lamp posts and hang from the brackets with only one thing in mind - vandalism."All this work with the flowers was done by volunteers who only wanted to brighten up their local community."The people who did this will not be caught and it makes me sick."I have it on good authority there were no dedicated police on duty covering the Worle area over the weekend which is unacceptable."A police spokesman said: "Officers covering the whole of the area, including Worle, were available throughout the weekend to respond to any calls. According to our records, no reports of any vandalism to the hanging baskets or the boat were made to the police."We would appeal to anybody who has information about these crimes to come forward.