Disappointed villagers have hit out at careless vandals who wrecked new play park flooring less than 24 hours after it was laid.

New soft matting costing £3,000 was installed under the swings at the Recreation Ground in Appledore, near Tenterden, as part of upgrades to the facility in The Street.

But the day after it was laid and taped off to set, youths were seen passing the barrier and running around on the new surface leaving it damaged beyond repair.

Gary Kinsley, from Appledore Recreation Ground Management Committee, the charity which paid for the rubberised surface, says it will cost thousands more to fix.

"Children were looking forward to playing on the swings and now they can't for the time being," he said.

"The ideal situation is for the parents to come forward and offer some sort of apology and compensation but if not we probably will involve the police because we do have witnesses.

"Unfortunately it can’t easily be repaired, the guys who did the works said a little mark can be patched up, but because of the extent of it, they can’t repair it.

"Do we really want to spend money investing in these facilities if they are just going to get damaged?"

"It’s either live with it, or rip the whole thing up and do it again which will cost, at a guess £4,000 to £5,000."

The charity alongside Appledore Parish Council have plans to upgrade the recreation ground further by developing the pavilion as well as the tennis courts.

However this incident has led them to question whether it will be worth it.

Mr Kinsley added: "This puts a question mark over it.

"Do we really want to spend money investing in these facilities if they are just going to get damaged?"