VANDALS who set fire to play equipment at a playground have caused more than £15,000 worth of damage.

A slide in Barra Close, Highworth, was so badly burned it had to be pulled down, leaving the town council to pick up the bill.

Town clerk David Lane said thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money had already been wasted on cleaning up after vandals. "It seems that setting fire to things is a local sport. The slide had a metal platform, a wooden tower and heavy duty plastic shoot and I thought it was impossible to burn down.

"But most of the problem is not damaged equipment, but anti-social behaviour, broken bottles and obscene graffiti," he said. "The rubbish bin gets trashed at least once a week. Every Monday we have to send two of our workers to pick up glass and clear up, which takes them away from other jobs.

"We have problems in all our parks but the one in Barra Close is the worst.

"Two years ago we had to pull down the pavilion because every single brick in the back wall had been removed, and three years ago a small slide was burned. A couple of months ago hay in a neighbouring field was set alight."

PC Simon Petty of Highworth Police said the slide was burned on Saturday night.

Anyone with information can contact the police on (01793) 762251.