YOUTHS in Churchill have been blamed for setting fire to a children's play area just two days after £6,000 worth of repairs was spent on it

YOUTHS in Churchill have been blamed for setting fire to a children's play area just two days after £6,000 worth of repairs was spent on it. Churchill Parish Council, which owns the site behind the doctor's surgery in Ladymead Lane, believes youngsters might be to blame.The council has already ordered £11,000 worth of new equipment for the play area, including a roundabout, seesaw, bench and a picnic table. Installation was due to take place this summer but it has now been put on hold. Police have been informed of the vandalism and beat officer PC Ray Bradley and PCSO Michele Barrett will be making enquiries to find out who is responsible. Parish clerk Lindsay Ireland said previously wooden slats have been removed from the 'fort' as the play area is known, to make skateboard jumps. In the latest act of vandalism, a fire was lit on a wooden area beneath the fort which has left paintwork and wood work scorched. Just days earlier £6,000 of work was done to the fort including new uprights, two new staircases and wooden side panels. The council's play area committee chairman, Jackie Bush, said: "It makes me very sad. These people tried to burn it down. They weren't doing it to keep themselves warm. This will make it more difficult for me to get funding from the council for the play area. Rest assured I will be keeping a close eye on it from now on.