OUTRAGED residents have called for urgent action after park vandals left a trail of destruction for the second time in five days in the shadow of a £10,000 CCTV system.

Panels of laminated safety glass -- designed to be as tough as a car windscreen -- were found smashed in the latest attack on the historic Victorian conservatory in Blackburn's troubled Corporation Park yesterday.

The grade two listed conservatory was also hit in a spate of incidents, including arson, in the park on Thursday night when windows on the south side of the building were smashed.

This time the destruction was spread directly under the state-of-art cameras on the west wing.

Nearby resident Denis Whittaker, of Woodfold Place, said: "It's disgraceful. The park used to be really posh but now it's just gone terrible.

"It's becoming a waste of time and money to keep on repairing it."

Mr Whittaker, who regularly walks his dog in the park, called for the reintroduction of a warden and said: "There needs to be somebody here from teatime through till midnight -- then it might stop."

He added that he regularly saw park workers having to wear heavy gloves so they could collect needles discarded by drug addicts on the Victorian playing fields below the conservatory, which have been a popular meeting place for teenage gangs and users.

Gordon Cornthwaite, of New Bank Road, said: "People who don't come up here wouldn't believe it. It's people like us walking their dogs in a morning who see it all.

"It's time something was done about it."

A provisional £2million in lottery cash is earmarked to return Corporation Park to its former glory.

The revamp includes improvements to the conservatory, Italian gardens, the garden of remembrance, gateway, fountains, pavilions, drainage, paths and boundary walls.

Coun Fred Slater said: "It is important that once we get the improvements done, the place stays in good nick.

"That means making sure people feel safe to go in there again and making sure that the troublemakers who have given the place such a bad reputation aren't allowed to get a grip of the place.

"I would suggest we employ a warden there to make sure that the place can't deteriorate. It has the potential to be a wonderful asset.

Coun Edmond Critchley added: "Every effort must be made to make sure people can't get access to it at night.

"People need to learn that throwing bottles and cans in on the way home from the pub is not acceptable."

Sergeant Sally Riley of Blackburn Police said they were in regular contact with the parks department in an effort to cut the vandalism and the park had its own beat officer.

"We have regular high-visibility patrols, plainclothes visits and we even have access to mountain bikes in the park.

"We are also looking at the quality of the CCTV cameras in the park," she said

And she confirmed the problems at the park were right at the forefront of police action.

Sgt Riley appealed for anyone with any information on vandalism at the park to contact herself or PC Tony Peel on Blackburn 51212.

Tom Wilson, Blackburn with Darwen Council Head of Outdoor Amenities, said: "A group of volunteers from the Friends of Corporation Park and others were doing a community litter pick when they discovered a number of broken windows in the conservatory.

"This is the second incident of vandalism in a week and the matter has been reported to the police."

Tapes from the CCTV cameras near the scene will be sent to the police for analysis.