YOU won't blackmail us! That's the message to teeny vandals who are wreaking havoc on senior citizens' bowling greens.

Council leisure bosses say the youngsters who ride their bikes and play football and cricket on the well-kept lawns are holding the local authority to ransom to provide expensive leisure facilities.

Two Blackburn bowling greens are regularly vandalised - the worst hit being at Burnley Road.

Tom Wilson, Blackburn's head of outdoor amenities, said: "This is a major problem for us. The local children are blatantly using the greens as their recreation area and it is causing severe damage.

"The lawns are being ruined because some of the youngsters are riding their bikes across them. It costs a lot of time and money to repair the damage - grass doesn't grow back in days.

"Their excuse is they have nowhere else to play but it's just blackmail.

"If the council had enough money to provide facilities for every community in the borough we would be delighted to do so but it isn't possible. "

The vandalism follows thefts of valuable bowling balls from Burnley Road and Queen's Park bowling greens. Mr Wilson added: "It's a terrible shame for the senior citizens who use these facilities. For some of them, it is the only hobby they have and it is very selfish to take this away from them.

"Additional security would not be viable because no matter how many gates and barriers you put up around them the children will still get in if they want to. The only thing we can do is teach them to respect others' property. Nothing else will stop them."

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