A recently refurbished playground on Swinnow Moor was targeted by vandals last week. They started a fire on play equipment using books from a new little library free book exchange set up on the estate. The incident was repeated this week and Swinnow Community Centre was also targeted by bike thieves. Pudsey resident Hannah Thompson has written this letter:
I was born and raised in Pudsey and I used to be proud to be a Pudsey lass.
I moved back up to the area five years ago, but not only is town centre overrun by yobs, they’re also targeting kids’ play areas!
I know there’s always been vandals about, but what satisfaction comes of destroying things for other people? Some children don’t have access to their own garden and all the play parks were locked for a few months last year because of Covid.
We definitely need more CCTV everywhere, but that’ll cost more for the council and then more for the taxpayer.
I only noticed the Little Library down Swinnow last week and thought it a lovely idea to get people reading and sharing books. I’ve seen on Facebook’s Pudsey Born and Bred group that they have been installed in various parts of Pudsey.
I’ve only just started reading books again and would love to share with others, unfortunately it doesn’t look like a safe place to exchange books anymore.