VANDALISM has cost Witney Town Council almost £40,000 in the past five years.

The town council is warning that the soaring costs affect every council taxpayer in the town.

Witney mayor, James Mills, said: “Witney Town Council is continuing to work closely with Thames Valley Police and West Oxfordshire District Council officers to combat this situation, and while we are sure it is a small minority of residents causing damage, the cost is far too high.”

He added: “Valuable resources, which we as a council can ill-afford, are being directed away from the really important projects that we plan, thereby halting plans for the enjoyment of the whole of the town.”

In the past 12 months, the town council has spent almost £8,000 fixing play equipment, cleaning graffiti off public property, and repairing vandalised bus shelters. This year (2010/2011), the town council has a budget of £958,175 to spend in the area.

Town clerk, Sharon Groth, said: “Some examples of the worse vandalism the council has suffered over the past five years include the desecration of gravestones at Tower Hill cemetery with obscenities and other graffiti; large quantities of litter being left in the cemeteries, which are not play areas, and the complete disregard and disrespect for the graves.”

She said: “The windows on the cricket pavilion on The Leys have been smashed on a number of occasions, flower beds have been destroyed, joyriding on The Leys has resulted in damage to the grass areas and the football pitch and graffiti was sprayed on to the new play equipment at Marriotts Walk before it was even open to the public — the list goes on.”

She added that while equipment is being repaired, it is often unavailable to use for the rest of the town.

Play areas have had to be redesigned in some cases to vandal-proof them, while in the past, accidents have occurred when vandals have buried broken bottles and glass in grass play areas.

The town council is currently overseeing the building work of a new community hall in Madley Park.

Due to the hoardings surrounding the construction site being constantly damaged, the council has decided that the building needs to be robustly secured with shuttering to windows and doors.

Mr Mills added: “Sadly the perpetrators live in Witney, and must be known to someone.

“Shielding these people from the law and recompense is nearly as bad as the acts themselves.

“If you know who they are, please come forward in the strictest confidence to either Thames Valley Police or the Town Hall.

“Let us please put a stop to this malaise now, and keep our town safe and beautiful.”

Chief Inspector Jack Malhi, the police commander for West Oxfordshire, said that even a small amount of vandalism cost a great deal to repair.

He said: “The problem is that we often catch them, but the cost of removing the graffiti is considerable.

“It could cost a couple of thousand pounds to sort out.”