An act of vandalism has been condemned after the lawns of a popular gardens were torn up by a vehicle.

Rivington Terraced Gardens was broken in to via a gate with a large section of the lawns damaged by the vehicle.

This has been reported to the police but directors at the trust say this is not the first time this has happened.

This has happened at a time when the Rivington Heritage Trust are desperately trying to raise funds through different campaigns to help maintain the gardens.

Richard Galloway, a director at Rivington Heritage Trust, said: "It's not the first time this has happened. A very small number of people are causing a great amount of detriment to the gardens.

"It's not just the high costs to repair the damage and the time it'll take to re-grow the grass, it's heartbreaking that all our volunteers and fundraisers are working so hard during lockdown at a time when it's been difficult to raise the necessary maintenance funds."

The 'Squarea' campaign launched recently by the Heritage Trust aims to raise funds to maintain Rivington Gardens by allowing members of the public to sponsor a patch of land in the Japanese Garden, the Italian Lake, the Dell, the Woodlands, or the Lawns on the gardens.

The gardens has struggled for funding over the past year due to the coronavirus with this fundraiser hoping to pay towards the maintenance of the gardens which costs over £100,000 per year.

David Spikey and Steve Royle are among the famous faces to back the campaign, which is vital to supporting volunteers efforts to maintain the gardens.

Mr Galloway added: ""At the end of the day it's pure vandalism and just makes our lives more difficult as we want the gardens open to the public, especially at this time."

For more information about the campaign, visit rivingtonterracedgardens.org.uk/get-involved/squarea.