Upset after vandals smash up Derbyshire community garden

Volunteers at a community garden have said they are "extremely upset" after vandals smashed up their greenhouse and damaged plants and vegetables.

Kirsty Barker, a volunteer at Grow Outside in Butterley, said the damage would cost more than £2,000 to fix.

The vandalism is thought to be linked to similar damage inflicted at a heritage railway site next door.

The community project, which helps people with mental health issues, has started a fundraising page.

Derbyshire Police is investigating the report of vandalism at the site between 18:00 and 18:30 GMT on 23 January.

Ms Barker said the site was secure and locked up but the vandals jumped a fence and began trashing the garden.

"They've got in and caused as much mess as they possibly could," she said.

"The greenhouse was smashed up and our new yurt building which the volunteers had just finished putting up - its door has been kicked off and they've left a mess inside that."

Ms Barker said new seedlings the group had just planted were also ruined and four large tankers with 4,000 litres of water in them were also drained.

"I'm extremely upset by this," she added.

"The volunteers spend a lot of time making this space feel safe and secure for people so this has taken the safety away from people that really rely on it.

"It's a place where people come and forget their troubles so with this happening, it's been taken away and that's the most difficult part.

"I'd just want to know why they have done this - it seems so malicious but whether it's a cry for support or boredom, I'm not sure."

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].