BIG-HEARTED company bosses have come to the rescue after vandals destroyed children's talking litter bins.

A duck-shaped bin in Blackburn's Queen's Park playground had its beak melted and voicebox stolen just two days after it was installed in August.

And last month the remaining penguin-shaped one was targeted by yobs who also ripped out its voicebox.

But Derbyshire-based Amberol - the UK's only manufacturer of the bins - has agreed to donate a free penguin-shaped display model worth £500.

The 3ft-high bins have five different messages, including "Thank you, that is the best meal I have had all day."

They are operated by a sensor triggered when the light is blocked by the ingoing rubbish.

Queen's Park Supporters Group, which raised the cash for the facilities, said the new bin will be installed next month.

Project officer Val Yates said the group has also bought new voiceboxes for the damaged bins and hopes to repair them in Winter.

Mrs Yates, 68, also added that once the bins are fixed they will give the replacement feature to a school.

She said: "We want to thank Amberol - the company has bent over backwards to help us.

"The bins are very effective because little kids love them. My husband Jack was in the park the other day and a little boy told him the penguin was being sick.

"He went to look and saw the bin was so full litter was flowing out of its mouth. That's how popular they are."

Amberol has a wide selection of theme bins - called Amberol Animals - with parrots, chicks, robins, bears and pigs.

The firm's director, Patience Atkinson, said: "We were as disappointed as the group when we heard the bins had been vandalised.

"The group had put a lot of effort into choosing the penguin and the children seemed to make a friend of him even though he only worked for a few days.

"Fortunately, vandalism is something that does not seem to happen that often, but it does happen.

"We decided that we really wanted to help out to allow the group to carry on its good work in educating the children about putting litter in the bin where it belongs."