Darwen litter picker vows to help primary school after vandals destroy newly installed eco garden

On Thursday last week, St Edwards Primary School in Darwen had their outdoor garden destroyed, leaving teachers and pupils upset and angry.

CCTV footage from the Blackburn Road school has been sent to the police, with staff saying officers are investigating the incident.

Mindless vandals have wrecked the children's polytunnel

On Friday a spokesperson for the school said: "Last night, our newly installed polytunnel was damaged.

"CCTV footage has been sent to the police who are investigating.

"We are very upset as we have only just put our plants in there for our Eco School and someone has vandalised this purposely."

Mindless vandals have wrecked the children's polytunnel

Local litter-picker and Keep Britain Tidy Ambassador, Wayne Dixon, who has previously been invited to the school to speak to children about littering and the environment, said he was saddened to see such a thing happen, especially as the children were very keen to learn more and do more for their local area, but hoped something good could come from the situation.

He said: "The head teacher and staff recognised the children's passion, and to support this, they invested in buying a school polytunnel so that the children could learn more about nature, how plants and food grow and how to care for the environment, but sadly last week someone has entered the school grounds and has been destructive and slashed the lining of the tunnel.

"The tunnel had only been there a week and obviously this has caused upset to staff and the children."

Mr Dixon said he wanted to raise some money to have the polytunnel sheeting replaced, and also said he had been in talks with the council, cricket club and school leaders to turn the wall between the cricket club and the school into an educational wall.

Mindless vandals have wrecked the children's polytunnel

He added: "We'd like to paint the wall with murals, which will be designed by the children, and would like to plant herbs, fruits, flowers and veg along the base of the wall.

"This would be a community project with the aim of getting local people and local groups involved.

"This idea will transform this area by making it look brighter and better than it is, and will also help to provide free food, education and activities for people in Darwen.

"We have had permission to paint the wall and are just waiting for permission from the council."

LITTER PICKER: Wayne Dixon, and his dog, Koda from Witton, Blackburn, are litter picking their way around Greate Britain.

Mr Dixon hopes as many people will get involved in the project as possible to help support St Edwards school with continuing their passion for sustainable living.

For more information, to volunteer, or donate please head to Darwen's Creative Spaces on Facebook.