Worried Diss children have issued an appeal to vandals to leave their playground near De Lucy Close alone

A group of worried children have issued an appeal to vandals to “leave their playground alone”.

The plea has been made by children who live near to a play area off De Lucy Close in Diss.

It comes after a slide was broken and then left in disrepair for more than a week.

Graffiti was also sprayed on the playground sign at the weekend.

Charlie Coleman, six, said: “We’re sad and angry. We’ve waited ages for the new park and then it gets broken.

“I just wish people would leave it alone.”

The playground was installed by South Norfolk Council last summer.

There have also been concerns from parents that some of the equipment is not up to scratch.

Mum Szandra Szabo said: “I visited it last Tuesday with my youngest Keira, who’s four.

“I saw one of the metal barriers on the slide had become completely detached and I had to grab my daughter before it almost fell on us. It was pretty scary.

“The next morning, I went to the town council office and someone said they would report it for me.

“On Friday, it looked the same. The metal pole was now on the ground and nothing has been done; not even a safety warning or anything.”

Mum Jordan Coleman said: “On Saturday, we found the park vandalised, with a large part of the climbing frame broken off.

“Two young girls were trying to reassemble it. I helped them lay the equipment back on the ground.

“Realising the risk to injury, I immediately phoned the emergency contact number on the South Norfolk Council sign but was unable to reach
anybody.

“I also reported it to Diss Town Council, who told me they were not responsible for the park and that they would report it to South Norfolk.

“On Monday, we went back to the park to check if the problem had been rectified to find the large part of the climbing frame had disappeared,
leaving the equipment unable to be used.

“This means children can only climb up the slide the wrong way, making it dangerous to use.

“In my view, the equipment is too flimsy and can be easily tampered with. It is not fit for purpose.”

She added: “There was nothing wrong with the previous wood equipment that they ripped out and then spent over a year replacing it with this monstrosity.”

The incident has been reported to Norfolk Police.

South Norfolk Council said the new equipment was installed last year as a ‘high priority’ as the former wooden equipment was in poor conditiona and had rotted in places.

The council was also concerned about vandalism at the playground and the possibiliy of fire.

South Norfolk Council said it is however looking to introduce more ‘substantial fixings’ at the playground.