'Really upsetting' - Vandals destroyed picnic bench and huts in Edinburgh community centre garden - then used wood to make fire

The charred remains were found on Monday morning in woodland beside Sandy's Community Centre, Craigmillar, following reports of teens drinking in the area over the weekend.

Police have been informed about the incident and a spokesperson for the force said inquiries are ongoing and at an early stage.

Centre manager Donna Huth told the Evening News: "I feel very disappointed that the people we are trying to support are most likely one of the groups who have done all this damage.

"Lockdown has been hard enough for charities without having the added pressure of vandalism."

Pictures of the destroyed picnic bench and huts were shared on the community centre's Facebook group along with a message to those responsible which read: "Thanks to you, people with disabilities and primary school children have nowhere to sit and enjoy the garden."

The message acknowledged that although some people might be bored just now, "some of the money you spent on Dragon Soup (an alcoholic energy drink)" could have been used to buy firewood in Home Bargains for as little as £5.

‘Do something constructive’

Jeannie Robertson-Frazier, a trustee at the community centre, said current restrictions on accessing the premises during lockdown has meant volunteers not being able to maintain the garden area – and she suspects this might make people think it's being neglected and acceptable to treat it without respect.

She said: "What's really upsetting about it is Donna has worked really hard as a volunteer and over the last two years as a manager of the centre to collaborate with other organisations to do all of this."

Jeannie said the community centre teamed up with young people to build one of the huts from pallets and that the other was made as a project by people from the Community Payback scheme for offenders.

She said that small amounts of funding were used to upcycle what goes into the garden for the community, and that before Donna took over it was viewed as a bit of a dumping ground.

Jeannie added: "What has been destroyed are things that were not bought but built by local people and volunteers for the benefit of the local community.

"It might be a case of going back to the start now.

"If you care about yourselves and family and the community at all, then do something constructive rather than destructive.

"This community centre is for everyone in Craigmillar and is as much for the people who have done the damage as for everyone else."