Appeal after child finds offensive park graffiti in Bideford

Offensive graffiti found by a child at a play park in Devon has sparked an appeal for information.

The graffiti at Victoria Park, in Bideford, included references to death threats.

The child’s mother, who has asked to remain anonymous, said she reported the graffiti to Torridge District Council and Devon and Cornwall Police on Sunday.

The council said it was “disappointed” with the graffiti and it was “immediately cleaned off” after it was reported.

Devon and Cornwall Police said it was made aware of the “offensive and abusive graffiti drawn on the new play equipment” at the park and that inquiries were ongoing.

The woman said her seven-year-old daughter alerted her to the writing at the top of the tunnel slide at the play park which opened during the summer.

She said: “I went up to have a look and saw the most horrendous and disturbing writing around the slide.

“It was quite shocking to have in a children’s playground.”

She said it was “incredibly worrying as a parent” to see and it was sad the equipment had been graffitied as the park only opened during the summer.

“You wouldn’t want your children reading this at a play park.”

The council said: “We would strongly advise anyone with any further information about the incident to contact the police.

“We work closely with the police service and park wardens to try and keep all our public areas safe and secure for everyone.

“If members of the public do see anything untoward, we would strongly urge them to report it.”