Anger at third act of vandalism to planting projects in Skibbereen

SKIBBEREEN Tidy Towns committee has appealed to the vandals who damaged two planters on Saturday March 23rd to come forward.

The two containers were located near the Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre and measured 6ft by 2ft which meant that it would have taken three or four people to drag them from where they stood before being knocked on to road, spilling the contents. 

This is the third act of vandalism to planting in the town in recent months which has left the Tidy Towns feeling disheartened and demoralised. 

Francis Hunt, the committee’s PRO, said he would prefer to see the vandals own up to what they did, and make amends by assisting the Tidy Towns Committee in its efforts to make the town look more attractive.

One possible alternative to that scenario would be to see the vandals detected after the gardaí examined the town’s comprehensive CCTV footage and be brought before the courts.

Francis admitted that he and the other 13 volunteers who go out every Saturday morning to enhance a given area of the town were ‘demoralised’ on Sunday morning when they saw the two planters had been overturned.

As part of that senseless vandalism, Francis Hunt said one mature box-hedge plant was taken and another damaged, at a cost of around €80.

‘It’s not the money. It is the appalling destructive nature of what is happening. It’s hard to comprehend that anyone would go to that much trouble,’ he said. 

‘To have to contend with this level of distributive behaviour is so disheartening. But, on a more positive note, people are coming forward to say how sorry they are about what has happened. It gives us hope that more people will volunteer to join the regular Saturday morning clean-upssessions.’