A disabled toilet at a Midothian outdoor classroom has been burned to the ground for the second time in the latest bout of "mindless vandalism."
The Rosewell outdoor classroom provides locals with facilities to complete their John Muir Award and also supports disadvantaged children from Alzheimer's Scotland to enjoy activities and socialise.
Unfortunately, the outdoor classroom, which includes an essential disabled toilet and sheltered woodland area, has been subjected to countless acts of vandalism since being built in 2017, with this being the second time one of the facilities has been set on fire.
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While the Rosewell Development Trust continue to liaise with local police officers, the classroom suffered a fire at the start of the month which gutted the disabled toilet, leaving those who use the area without a space to learn and take part in activities.
The woodland classroom in Sheilburn Wood is run by the Rosewell Development Trust (RTD) and centre manager, Robert Scott, has hit out at those responsible for the repeated acts of vandalism that the trust continues to pay to resolve.
On the most recent incidents, Robert said: "Unfortunately, over the past few months, vandalism has reared its ugly head yet again at the classroom, with several incidents occurring culminating in the destruction of the toilet facility by fire last Friday afternoon (April 1).
"RDT have been in discussion with the police throughout regarding these incidents but, unfortunately, it seems there is very little that can be done to curb this vandalism as there is no clear evidence to suggest the youths responsible lit the fire.
"Some people have suggested installing CCTV up at the classroom, but this would be a costly procedure and as soon as these vandals spotted the cameras, they would no doubt destroy them anyway. Also, the fact they all wear hoodies to cover their faces would mean it would be impossible to identify them from CCTV footage."
Unfortunately for the locals who use the classroom regularly, the trust have had to cancel all future work with Alzheimer's Scotland as the toilet was a necessity for the group and the funding is simply not available to completely rebuild it.
With the estimated cost in the region of £5,000, disabled users have also been unable to access the woodland classroom, as the toilet provided wheelchair users with a ramp to gain easy access to the facility whilst partaking in outdoor activities.
In what is now the second time the toilet has been set alight, not to mention the multiple other occasions that vandalism has been reported at the site, the trust have been left helpless and struggling to reach a solution.
Robert added that the vandalism stopped for a brief spell after more frequent police patrols and monitoring, with over 100 pupils from schools in and around Rosewell gaining their John Muir awards and many families from the village enjoying the facilities for picnics and social gatherings.
Since then, things quickly went downhill and the trust have been forced to rebuild and start from scratch.
Robert added: "To sum up, this mindless act of vandalism has had a serious effect on the work that RDT delivers at the Woodland Classroom, has deprived our Alzheimer’s group of access to a project that they all enjoy, has had a serious effect on the income of our two employees and has upset all the good children in our community who look forward to their days spent up at the Woodland Classroom.
"We at RDT hope that the youths who did this are caught and punished for what they have done, and their parents are made aware of what their children are doing to our community."
Police Scotland confirmed they are making enquiries into the latest incident at the classroom, as the fire is being treated as wilful.
A spokesperson said: "Officers received report of a building on fire in Rosewell Park around 5.25pm on Friday, April 1.
"The fire was extinguished by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and no-one was injured.
"The fire is being treated as wilful and enquiries are ongoing."
