An Edinburgh sports pitch has repeatedly been left unusable, thanks to thoughtless vandals.
The pitches at Sighthill Park have had burning items left on them on numerous occasions, something which sports coach, Peter Laird, says happens more frequently in the summer holidays. Just under two weeks ago, a burning motorbike was left on the pitches.
The act often leaves the pitches unusable for sports groups, and uses Edinburgh Council resources to clean up. Peter hopes more young people will get involved in activities happening in the park, instead of getting involved in anti-social behaviour.
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Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Peter said: "We're about to hit the summer break and I think anybody who runs a sports team in Edinburgh will tell you similar stories.
"Young people will steal bins from neighbours and set fire to them in the middle of the field and inevitably when it burns, it melts into the pitches, puts metal into the ground. Then over and above that, obviously, we've had cars burnt out and motorbikes - a few years ago we had a golf cart burnt out in the middle of the pitch."
Two coaches who use the pitch live nearby and will often alert police as soon as incidents happen. According to Peter, police are often aware of who the culprits are.
He continued: "If the bike or a car or whatever is burnt out or bin is burnt into the middle of the pitch, it's unusable, because the metal and the plastic will melt into the pitch.
"You've essentially got to rope off the area that that's been affected, there'll be metal into the pitch, there'll be plastic with sharp edges sticking out of the pitch itself. Games have often been had to be cancelled or postponed or moved."
Peter says as the summer holidays begin, schoolchildren are often bored and looking for things to do. He hopes young people will join a sport or activity, and engage in local communities instead.
He added: "We've got 85 to 100 kids every weekend coming down.
"It's got a huge knock on effect for everybody else. It's a shame as well because the kids who are actually trying to do something and fill their days with something nice, their days are getting ruined."
Cllr Val Walker, Culture and Communities Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "There’s no excuse for anti-social behaviour and vandalism like this.
"It’s completely unacceptable and all it achieves is to take much-needed sports pitches out of action until we can repair them. It has a damaging effect on the whole community as many different clubs from across the city use these pitches. I would urge anyone who knows who may be responsible for these senseless acts of vandalism to contact police.”
