AN angry mayor wants parents whose children vandalise public property made to cough up the cash for repairs.

Clitheroe Mayor John McGowan told a council meeting that he was "lost for words" when he saw the damage at Clitheroe Castle after a weekend wrecking spree.

The vandals caused more than £1,000 worth of damage when they destroyed wooden benches, broke lights, dug up a bowling green and smashed dozens of beer bottles.

The mayor told a Ribble Valley Council meeting that vandals had been "getting away with it for far too long and must be brought to book."

"I was absolutely lost for words when I saw what they had done and can't say in public what I feel for these people. These mindless youths must be brought to book and their parents of made to pay for the damage. They should be given community service orders and made to repair the damage. "This isn't a kneejerk reaction. These vandals have been getting away with it for too long," he said.

Coun Graham Sowter told the meeting that the vandals were "destroying and trashing the council's assets" and called for increased security at key sites.

"We need to look at fresh initiatives to protect our property, such as park wardens or closed-circuit television. Residents also have a duty to let us know who the vandals are. The vandals have to start being prosecuted for criminal damage and the full consequences brought home to their parents," he said.

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