Vandals have destroyed eight young birch trees and a liquidambar tree in Brinton Park, Kidderminster, planted as part of a memorial to a Wyre Forest District Council employee.
The trees were located close to the Loop Shelter and were part of a circle of trees which was the start of the memorial to Robin Minton, who died in 2013.
He had spent many years working as a nurseryman in Brinton Park and later went onto to design and create the flowerbeds in the Council’s parks and open spaces. The memorial was also going to include circular seating around a central liquidambar tree and a display of wildflowers and spring bulbs.
Warren Davies, Wyre Forest District Council’s Arboricultural Technician said: “This has really upset us. Robin dedicated so much of his time to Brinton Park and we felt it was going to be a fitting tribute to his great contribution over the years. It takes a lot of effort to plant, establish and maintain a young tree.
"We have been lucky until now as we have only had a few cases where our trees have been vandalised. Usually we would re-plant in the hope that whoever was responsible had moved on, but in this case we feel it’s best for us to re-think our options and look at planting Robin’s memorial elsewhere.”
The trees were vandalised during the evening of Monday 10 August. The Council is appealing to anyone who has information to contact the police on 101 quoting incident number 283S120815.
Councillor Ian Hardiman, Wyre Forest District Council’s Cabinet Member for Operational Services said: “It’s very sad to see such mindless vandalism. The work the team has started to honour one of the Council’s former employees has been destroyed and it spoils the environment for residents and visitors. There will also be a cost for replacing the trees. We would urge anyone who witnessed the incident or has information to come forward.”
The remaining seven trees which formed the memorial will now be moved to a different area of the park.
Comments
I lived in Kidderminster for over 8 years - and my young son loved this park ( even though we lived right next to Springfield Park - which was in the process of being adopted and revamped by locals) - there are some lovely people in that town,sadly, it also has it's fair share of ner' do wells. I often thought that the revival of the old fashioned parkie ( ex SAS ) would be a cheaper and better option to ensure enjoyment of these green spaces rather than constantly having to clean up the mess of the less thinking members of our society ( they would definitely do a better job of getting dog mess reduced).