Westhoughton: Vandals set bridge in Hall Lee Bank Park alight

The wooden bridge, which is in Hall Lee Bank Park in Daisy Hill, Westhoughton, has been scorched with the blaze causing small holes in some of the planks.

Cllr David Chadwick of Westhoughton South was made aware of the damage around two weeks ago, but it is unknown when the arson attack took place.

Now, police patrols are set to be stepped up around the area following the arson attack. The bridge will also be fixed by Bolton Council.

Holes in the bridge (Image: Public)

Cllr Chadwick said: "Around a fortnight ago somebody drew my attention to it. There were concerns, this is an important public amenity for the community.

"It annoys me when people are so destructive, it aggravates me when people do it. A lot of people use it as a quick cut through from Park Road to Daisy Hill and people use it to get to the train station.

"Besides that, people use it for leisure, they exercise in the park, walk their dogs, and it is just quite a nice, leafy, pleasant area.

"I have spoken to the police sergeant in Horwich and he has said they will have some officers patrolling the park."

The attack happened over a fortnight ago (Image: Public)

He added: "You can't expect any more - I don't say that to criticise the police, but just because I recognise they are low on resources.

"It will be good to have visibility in the park. There are unruly elements, people with antisocial tendencies, who would be put off by seeing police officers or PCSOs around.

"The council will make repairs in the next couple of weeks. I am not sure of the cost of it, but they will do it as quickly as possible.

"It was nothing too catastrophic fortunately, but I don't know if the fire was started and then put out by rain, or something else."