Residents living close to Elms Vale recreation ground have commented on the “disgusting” state it has fallen into over last weekend.

This issue was initially raised on Facebook, where Sharon Joliffe, of Elms Vale Road, posted the following: “I’ve been up the playground at Elms Vale and could not believe how disgusting it is.”

Ms Joliffe said that other residents have also complained to the council about its condition.

“There’s been a big hole in the tarmac behind the bucket swing, so there are lots of pieces of tarmac everywhere, something disgusting has been smeared from the top to bottom on both slides and there is rubbish everywhere, she added.

“I’ve reported it to the council so I wonder how long until its been fixed and cleaned.”

The mother of two first saw the mess on Sunday afternoon and hasn’t since ventured back to the park with her children who are four and nine-years-old.

She suspects that the vandalism may have taken place over the weekend, as she visited the park on Friday and saw nothing of the sort.

A DDC spokesman said: “We are aware of this matter, and have made immediate arrangements to have the litter picked.

“We have fenced off the area below the basket swing on Monday, made arrangements for the slide to be cleaned Tuesday, and are making arrangements for a company to repair the safety surfacing.

Ms Joliffe has also called for the police to patrol the area more frequently to prevent vandalism.

She said: “We don’t really see the police up there at all, I would like more patrols up there and a PSCO as well.”

A DDC spokesman concluded: “The Community Safety Unit has been informed, and we continue to work closely with the police.”