Anger at spate of play parks with broken bottles
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The paper was made aware of several incidents, including glass smashed at Inshes Park, Maxwell Park and play parks in Raigmore.
Hundreds of shards were also found in a smaller unnamed play area just off Cradlehall Park – close to the local primary school.
Inverness South councillor Ken Gowans blasted those responsible, adding the impact could be catastrophic.
“It’s very concerning that someone would actually do this and would be as irresponsible as to leave broken glass in an area that’s clearly used by young children,” he said.
“The worries are all too obvious. A child falling on that could pick up a very serious injury.
“I would like to think that people would behave a bit more responsibly.
“It’s something which keeps happening and it’s just totally irresponsible.”
Cllr Gowans believed the issue is particularly concerning as daylight hours get shorter, meaning children are often using parks in near-darkness.
“Children have less time to play, and that means they are often playing into hours where it is almost dark and they can’t see things like broken glass,” he added.
“They could be running and falling on it.”
Parent Tina Power, whose son attends Cradlehall Primary, revealed she will not let her children use the nearby play park due to the amount of broken glass, as well as dog excrement.
“I never let my children play there because there is quite often broken glass and dog poo,” she said.
“It’s a massive problem. It’s something I am really not happy about.
“I’m not sure what needs to be done, whether it’s putting cameras in or fining people, but what is going on at the minute is not OK.”
Carol Dixon, a parent of two nursery-age daughters who use the Cradlehall play park frequently, said: “I was raging when I saw all the broken glass.
“It is dangerous and ruined what was supposed to be fun family time.”
Richard Crawford, vice-chairman of Inverness South Community Council, said the group regularly hears of incidents of vandalism and broken glass at play parks, and called for action to be taken before a child is seriously injured.
“As a community council we are constantly getting fed up of things like this happening,” he said.
“It seems that it’s a small minority who are damaging the parks which are there for everyone to enjoy.
“There have been numerous incidents. A couple of years ago they were setting fire to the shelters in Inshes Park and ripping slates off the roof.
“Broken glass being left in parks is shocking because it is dangerous. It is very disheartening to see it happening.
“There is such a wide range of ages of the children who use the parks and there is a real risk, particularly to the younger ones.”
Cllr Gowans insisted that the problem must be tackled – but admitted that every penny spent on dealing with the issue could be better spent improving facilities for the community.
“It’s absolutely stupid,” he said.
“If anyone knows who has done this they need to advise them how dangerous it can be.
“It’s a mix of ignorance, stupidity and irresponsible behaviour, and it’s totally unacceptable.
“At Inshes Park, because of some of the antisocial behaviour, we have had to go to the extent of installing CCTV in the hope of finding who is responsible.
“That cost around £5000 and that’s money we could have spent in the community in other ways. That’s the financial cost, but the cost to someone’s health is more important, and that’s what we are really concerned about.”
Highland Council is responsible for many of the city’s play parks. A spokeswoman claimed it was only reported to them on Wednesday morning despite this paper telling them about it on Tuesday.
She said: “The broken glass was brought to our attention this morning and our operative has gone to check the parks. However, unless people report it to us and are specific about where the glass is, these are huge areas to try and cover.
“We will be checking all the play areas and cleaning up any glass we find now it has been reported.
“We would like to remind the public that they can report problems via our website or call 01349 886601.”
