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Vandals force cancellation of greyhound racing

Getty Images The greyhound racing track in Lononderry, with the brandywell soccer stadium in the foreground and the river Foyle in the background. A tractor can be seen in the middle of the track, the footballs ground's stand is visible to the left, while a car park is to the right, with a number of vehicles parked in it.Getty Images
The Brandywell Greyhound Track is owned by Derry City and Strabane District Council

Vandals have forced the cancellation of a dog racing meeting in Londonderry after smashing the windows of the track’s tractor.

BBC News NI understands races due to take place on Monday night at the Brandywell Greyhound Track were called off over fears that broken glass had made it onto the track.

Writing on social media, Brandywell Greyhound Track said it was the first time in its 48-year history racing had been called off because of vandalism.

The owners of the race track, Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC), said there had been “a number of recent incidents at the site”.

A blue tractor sits in the middle of a dog racing track in Derry. White fencing can be seen in the foreground, and a spectator's stand is visible in the background. It is night time and the stadium is flood lit.
The tractor's windows were smashed in the incident

“The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium and Brandywell Greyhound Track are there for everyone to use and enjoy and incidents such as this are an attack on the community,” a DCSDC spokeswoman said.

She added: “Council is committed to engaging positively with local community representatives to look at ways of preventing these types of incidences occurring.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the windows of two tractors were reported to have been smashed at around 21:30 BST on Sunday.

The council spokeswoman said staff were assessing the extent of the damage and repairs would be carried out as soon as possible.

She urged anyone with information to contact the police.

Brandywell Greyhound Track said those responsible should “think of the negative impact this has on our patrons”.

Monday night races, the track said on social media, are an important social interaction for many of those who attend.

“We welcome all and are open to working with those involved to include them in our sport and show them what a positive impact it has for all our patrons,” it added.