THE Victorians recognised the importance of areas of open space in industrial areas like East Lancashire.

They provided a relaxing oasis of green where people whose homes were usually without gardens could escape the grimy, polluted, smoke-filled streets where they lived and worked.

People then were grateful to be able to enjoy the parks and would have been horrified at the wanton destruction suffered by them these days at the hands of yobs and vandals.

It is bad enough that walls and fences get daubed and damaged, plants are ripped up and panes of glass are treated as if they are just waiting to be smashed.

And today we hear that some of the 50 football pitches at Pleasington playing fields where 1,248 people enjoy taking part in the game each week have been churned up by people driving round and round them using four wheel drive cars and quad bikes.

As the council's outdoor bookings manager says the driver knew what he was doing and has "decided to trash the place for his own pleasure."

What is needed to stop such acts is not 24 hour security patrols - which would be prohibitively expensive -but the sort of community support highlighted by Regeneration Minister Sally Keeble yesterday when she visited Blackburn's Corporation Park yesterday.

The park is in line to receive a £2.5million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore it to its former glory and the Minister said the best guarantee for its future came from the strong community backing it had through its supporters' group.

During her visit she met young offenders who have been working with the park supporters removing graffiti and litter picking - the kind of offenders who have been causing so much trouble elsewhere.

Vandalism is the scourge of our age. This kind of community action could be the key to beating it.