A FURIOUS father has hit out after ‘mindless yobs maliciously’ left broken glass on children’s play equipment.

Chris Stoken, 33, from Basildon was horrified to see the glass left at a slide and soft play area at Great Berry Open Space, Langdon Hills.

He went to the park with is daugher, 8 and made the discovery.

He said: “I think it is a joke.

“The last few weeks there have been more teenagers in the evening taking over that park.

“I have had have a word with them before about respecting the younger children that the park is meant to be for.

“But seeing all that glass and rubbish is wrong.

“And it will probably take the council weeks to even bother to come clean it all up.”

He said it makes him very angry.

He said it seems residents are forced to clean up the smashed glass.

It has sparked fury in the community, with other worried parents and residents joining an online debate about the issue.

Kerry Smith, Independent councillor said: “It is beyond comprehension that someone would do this.

“There are plenty of litter bins at this park.

“I think it must be someone being spiteful.

“Why would anyone leave it there?

“I think this is someone being malicious as there is no sensible reason for someone to do this.

“It has caused a lot of concern in the community.”

Andrew Baggott, Tory leader of Basildon Council said the council takes these issues very seriously.

He said: “Unless these things are reported to us there’s not always a lot that we can do.

“We do not monitor our parks 24 hours a day and if someone comes along and abuses the equipment it must be reported to us.

“We very much work against these things.

“We do what we can to ensure we have nice open spaces for our residents and children to enjoy.

“It speaks volumes when someone does this.”