FLOWER boxes that were placed on the Three Arch bridge by the Ballydehob Tidy Towns committee were vandalised last Monday night.
By Connor Lynch
FLOWER boxes that were placed on the Three Arch bridge by the Ballydehob Tidy Towns committee were vandalised last Monday night.
The four wooden boxes were discovered on Tuesday morning, after they were ripped off their bolts on the bridge, and found destroyed on nearby grass.
Julian Dearden, treasurer for Ballydehob Tidy Towns, said it was a ‘great disappointment’ for the committee and locals alike. ‘We just don’t get this kind of thing in Ballydehob,’ he said.
According to Mr Dearden, the flower pots were bolted securely on the bridge, so it would have taken considerable force to remove them. ‘You could perhaps put it down to drunken, anti-social behaviour if they were just hanging there, but this is more than just an anti-social, drunken thing, it’s a deliberate act of vandalism.’
Ballydehob Tidy Towns had to fundraise to pay for the flowers on the bridge and around the town, and it is unlikely that they will get the funds to replace them. ‘We have volunteers who come out in all weather and willingly give their time so it’s a disappointment for them as well,’ said Mr Dearden.
A lot of work has been done in Ballydehob in the build-up to Tidy Towns, including putting flower pots in the park, hanging flower baskets around the town, enhancing the front garden of the town hall and even tidying up the front gardens of some residents. Tidy Towns judges came to Ballydehob for preliminary judging at the end of June, and they may come again for further judging if Ballydehob makes it onto their shortlist. However, this incident has been a setback.
