New £56k Coseley park gym hit by vandals

The gym, which was officially opened at Clayton Park in Coseley on March 21, featured a variety of outdoor exercise machines.

Vandals have attacked the gym and daubed graffiti across the machines, and have also broken the phone charging stations which were made available.

A resident, who did not want to be identified, said he discovered the graffiti when visiting the park with his young son earlier this month.

"I think it is so disappointing," he said. "I do a lot of work with the nearby local football club and we do use the park and I thought the gym was a good idea.

"It was barely open by the time it was vandalised.

"It just shows a lot of disrespect. Nobody will want to use these facilities if they are covered in graffiti and they will just go to waste.

"It is such a shame."

The gym includes pull-up and assisted pull up machines, dips and leg raise, chest press and seated row, shoulder press, recumbent bike, hand bike, leg press and bench, two spinning bikes and two cross-trainers.

When it was first installed, John Millar, acting strategic director for environment, economy and housing at Dudley Council said the gym would encourage residents in the borough to get fit, claiming park gym users could lose as much as three stone.

However, in the cold weather, the park has gone unused and has since become a target for the vandals.

Ward councillor Clem Baugh said he was disappointed by the news.

"It is not nice to see facilities which were installed for everybody being treated in such a way," Councillor Baugh said. "My view is that the money has been spent, money which comes from the public purse, and it has been wasted.

"We all contribute to the public pot and these things are put there for us all to enjoy, which means we all suffer when they are not treated with respect. We expect people to respect the area they live in.

"We installed a similar space at Jubilee Park, which is also in my ward, but I have not heard of this happening there.

"I think one has to look at the root cause of why this is happening. It has to start with parents and schools teaching their children that it is just unacceptable for them to vandalise things that have been put there for them to enjoy."