Council forced to call in 24-hour guards for Wallace Park play area

One parent who visited the new state-of-the-art play area recently witnessed teenagers abusing other children, equipment and council wardens.

"It is probably the best council play park I have ever seen and my kids loved it," he said. "And entry and exit is tightly supervised by wardens.

"But I saw a boy of about 14 spitting out of a climbing tower, narrowing missing my five-year-old son. When I asked him to stop, he just kept spitting," the father said.

"Gangs of teenage girls were holding social meetings inside slide towers, rendering them out of use for younger children. Another gang was giving verbal abuse to council wardens when asked to vacate toddlers' facilities.

"Others were smoking and using obscene language in front of young children."

He said that when they brought the issues to wardens, council staff said they were regularly verbally abused and had requested an age restriction.

Zipslides in the park have already been broken twice by gangs.

A council spokeswoman confirmed that night security at the park is provided by an external security firm.

The playpark cost 750,000 and has been extremely popular, she said.

"Any misuse of the park or any other council facility will not be tolerated and any criminal damage caused by individuals will be pursued, where possible, in conjunction with the PSNI."

The council is discussing increased patrols with the PSNI, she added.

Councillor Paul Stewart said: "I believe that the council and local police must take a proactive approach to deal with the matter and therefore I will be seeking a meeting with council officials and the PSNI."

Lagan Valley MLA Paul Givan added: "What nobody wants is anti-social behaviour which can be a problem at night time particularly in the car park and wooded areas."

Bumper Graham, assistant general secretary of NIPSA, said: "Risk assessments and remedial measures should be carried out so that employees are free to go about their jobs without fear of attack and injury."