POLICE are urging residents to report crimes in their villages, no matter how small they might be.
The warning comes after ‘mindless’ vandals set fire to a children’s wooden playhouse in Chester Road, Kelsall.
The blaze caused only minimal damage to the play area thanks to specialist fire resistant equipment being installed at the location.
A dog walker witnessed the incident and reported it immediately, enabling PC Steve Trow to put out the fire and begin searching for the vandals.
PC Trow praised the resident’s actions as it ‘prevented the situation from being a lot worse’.
He said: “This was a mindless and deliberate attempt at destroying equipment used by toddlers at the park.
“The park was recently fitted out with top quality playing equipment at great expense to the local community. It is normally a safe and lovely place for local children and families to enjoy.
“On this occasion it was fortunate that the witness reported this to us straight away, I attended and put the fire out myself so the damage could have been a lot worse.
“We do have a problem with people not reporting matters to us. They might let the parish council know and by the time we find out about it, it’s often days later, which means some individuals are getting away with causing problems for others as we are not aware of it.
“We want to get people in the habit of contacting us when they see things. I think some people just don’t like contacting the police, but it is very important that they do so.”
Call Cheshire Constabulary on 0845 458 0000.
