Vandalism damages boats at Belper River Gardens

Amber Valley Borough Council is appealing for any witnesses to an incident at Belper River Gardens last weekend to contact the police.

During the course of the weekend holes were drilled in a number of the rowing boats that are hired out to visitors during the summer for use on the stretch of the River Derwent towards Ambergate. It is believed those responsible deliberately made the holes as small as possible in order that they wouldn’t be detected until the boats were taken out onto the river.

Simon Gladwin, Head of Landscape Services at Amber Valley Borough Council said: “We routinely inspect the boats every day before they are opened to the public, so fortunately the damage was detected and all the boats were immediately taken out of service. We have now closed the boats for the season and will repair them over the winter.

“However, the potential consequences of this are extremely serious. Someone could have got themselves into severe difficulty and maybe even lost their life as a result of this mindless vandalism. We have reported the matter to the police, and would encourage anyone who visited the River Gardens over the weekend and noticed anything suspicious to report it to the police immediately.”

Ends.

For more information contact Lisa Garnham, PR and Communications Manager at Amber Valley Borough Council, on 01773 841655.