A BOROUGH councillor has condemned vandals who ripped down safety barriers within 24 hours of their installation in his ward.

Chadwell St Mary Cllr Adam Carter spoke up today (Wednesday, 19 January) after gates installed to protect pedestrians from bike riders on a local footpath were wrecked.

The vandalism happened on footpath 95 on Greyhound Lane which were only put in place yesterday to protect residents from irresponsible off-road motorbikes and quadbike riders.

Cllr Carter said: "I am disgusted to see that much-needed target hardening has been ripped out by vandals within 24 hours of installation.

"Residents from across Orsett Heath and Chadwell have complained about nuisance riders making it unsafe for them to enjoy our open spaces safely. This is the second time these target hardening measures have been damaged and removed at great cost to the taxpayer."

Cabinet member for transport and highways, Cllr Ben Maney, shared Cllr Carter's disappointment and anger and added: "While we are spending money protecting this footpath, we are not able to spend money on other target hardening projects across Thurrock.

"Recently a number of people have been knocked down by these irresponsible riders and a pet dog was killed so this is a real threat to safety, not just the council being killjoys.

"If anyone has any knowledge of who damaged this equipment, please call Essex Police on 111, use the online chat facility on the Essex Police website or contact Crimestoppers quoting crime reference 42/285/207/2."