Tots put at risk by broken glass in Leamington park play area

Father-of-two Andrew Bryers and his wife took their 19-month-old toddler and six-day-old baby to the fenced-off playground at Victoria Park on Sunday morning - but, a few minutes after his son had already begun to play, he was horrified to find the large shards of glass all over the ground there, including at the bottom of the slide his son had climbed on to.

Mr Bryers, who spoke to a member of onsite staff who said he would report the incident to the council and the police, said: “They were from very large alcoholic bottles and from their position, it looked as though someone had purposely smashed them and placed them there to injure a child.

“I spoke to some dog walkers who said glass was also in the the main field. I was told by regular users and neighbours to the park that such incidents happen frequently and police are called, but they do very little to nothing at all.”

He added: “The council needs to do something about this and fast. They should lock this area off in the evening and check it daily.

“The park and car park should be locked off like in Jephson Gardens on evenings and opened at a certain time. The council also needs to install CCTV near these main areas in order to see who is responsible for such actions.”

A spokesman for Warwick District Council, which runs the park, said: “The council has an emergency clean-up team who are called out to deal with these sorts of situations as soon as possible, if there is not a member of onsite staff who can do so.

“The park is open for use by everyone and is not locked at night to enable joggers, dog walkers and others passing through the park to be able to use it. If anyone sees any anti-social behaviour or dangerous items in this park and others in the district, we would urge them to contact the police immediately.”