CCTV to be installed after vandals damage Cotils’ peace garden

Staff arrived on the morning of 8 April to find that wooden struts had been kicked out of the decking area and branches from the tulip tree in the middle of the garden had been snapped off.

‘The damage was probably between £5,000 and £7,000 minimum,’ said charity chairwoman Fiona Naftel.

‘As a charity that’s a lot of money for us to find.’

Parts of the area are now unsafe and so have been cordoned off.

In another incident recently wooden sleepers surrounding the tree were set on fire.

‘It’s so frustrating and so upsetting,’ said Mrs Naftel.

Head of operations Erin Adkins said that a gardener dedicated to the peace garden had found the most recent damage.

‘It’s just senseless and mindless,’ she said.

There were no CCTV cameras in the area but she said these were now going to be installed.

‘It’s something I didn’t want to do, but we have no choice now.’

Mrs Adkins said she had been made aware of youths on Snapchat boasting about the damage and has given some names to Guernsey Police.

The Pat Merriman Peace Garden officially opened in 2022.

Designed by local architect Andrew Dyke and Chelsea gold medal-winning landscape artist Steve Welch, the garden is intended to be a restorative outdoor space to be inspired by, to pray, to enjoy the sounds, textures and colours of the natural world, and to be a safe haven for meditation.

The garden was also designed for people undergoing a healing process from physical or mental ill health, as well as for those with, for example, autism and dementia.

• Police are investigating the incident, which it said happened between 6pm on Sunday 7 April and 8am the next day. Anyone with information is asked to contact PC 120 Le Huray on 222 222 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111