Appeal To Skatepark Users To Prevent Flood Light Vandalism

Flood lights at the outdoor skate park in Cwmbran could be turned off permanently following repeated vandalism from park users. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The lights have been damaged on three separate occasions by users of the park trying to change the timings of the flood lights, which turn off automatically at 10pm. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Security locks and the protective casing of the timer cabinet have been cut open using heavy duty tools leaving dangerous wires exposed, and the council cannot continue to pay for the repairs. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Councillor John Cunningham, executive member for neighbourhood services at Torfaen council, said: “Cwmbran skatepark is a fantastic facility and unfortunately the acts of a few individuals threaten to spoil it for everyone. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The security timer is well protected and to break through the locks and protective casing would need heavy duty tools, so it is clearly not children doing this. Not only does it cost us every time we have to repair this, leaving exposed electrical wires is incredibly dangerous. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“If this continues we will have no choice but to turn the lights off all together, so I would urge these individuals to think of all users of the park and leave the lights alone in the future.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​