Vandals were wrongly blamed for damaging a children’s playground on an Oxford estate, according to a mother-of-two who said the equipment was “unsafe” and collapsed.

Police began investigating after swings in a playground owned and maintained by Risinghurst Parish Council, in Downside Road, Risinghurst, were damaged.

Chairman Yvonne Lowe had to close the playground over the school half-term and said the swings had been deliberately broken by youngsters some time on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon.

But a 33-year-old mother-of-two from Risinghurst, who asked not to be named said the estate’s children were not to blame.

She said: “It wasn’t vandals. Two children were on the swing and the base just collapsed.

“My daughter was on it and it started to wobble. She’s only a little girl and the base was moving.

“The equipment was unsafe and snapped.

“There were no vandals. I saw two kids on the swings late on Bank Holiday Monday, and the swings broke.

“The children were lucky they didn’t hurt themselves.”

Police appealed for information after claims by the parish council that the damage had been deliberate.

The council now faces a bill of up to £3,000 to repair them.

The two broken swings were removed on Friday.

Yvonne Lowe, parish council chairman, said: “This lady hasn’t come to tell the parish council what she saw, so we are still investigating.

“The playground is checked annually by the Royal Society for Protection of Accidents (Rospa) and we have regular inspections to make sure that if anything needs mending it gets mended.

“I have no reason to disbelieve her, but we would like her to come forward.

“We’ve had to close the playground down which is a shame. And it is going to cost us a couple of thousand pounds to replace these swings.”

The playground - which also has a climbing frame, balancing bar, rockers and a slide - is due to reopen soon and Police spokesman Chris Kearney said: “We had a call from a woman who said she saw the report and said the swings were rotten and there were no vandals.

“We are no longer investigating.”