COUNCILLORS in Yate have slammed the “mindless vandals” who set fire to a car and abandoned it in a skate park.

Police and firefighters were called to Peg Hill Skate Park at 12.20am on Monday after reports of a car ablaze in the main bowl.

The Ford Fiesta was destroyed and a spokesman from Avon Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was believed to be deliberate.

Cllr Alan Monaghan, who visited the skate park the afternoon after the fire, said: “This couldn’t have happened at a worse time really.

“The youngsters that I spoke to up there are appalled and, like us, can’t understand why anyone would go to so much effort to cause this kind of damage.

“I saw that the site is still usable but I feel that we will be looking to spend a lot of money on repairs, cleaning and repainting very soon.”

Yate town councillor Chris Willmore urged anyone who knows the identity of the culprits to come forward.

“The skateboard park is so well used this sort of stupidity wrecks it for all the young people who just want to have fun,” she said.

“Fortunately mindless vandalism like this is rare.

“Many thanks to the town council staff who worked all day on repairing the bowl for users.

“If anyone knows anything about it, please let us know in confidence so we can track down the idiots responsible.”

Phil Jones, parks supervisor for Yate Town Council, said the remains of the car were removed from the skate park on Tuesday morning.

He added: “We believe they gained access to the skate park and drove the car around before ending up in the bowl.

“They must have caused some considerable damage and were unable to get it out, so they decided to torch it.

“From what we could see this morning during the clear up, only a small amount of concrete has been damaged, which we will be able to pay to repair.”

A police spokesman said officers are working to identify the vehicle.

If anyone has any information that could assist police, call 101 quoting incident 24 of August 15.