VANDALS who damaged a Grade II listed park have been slammed as "mindless and selfish".

Farnworth Park was hit by a group of off-road bikers over the weekend.

The group were reportedly on bikes and scooters and caused damage to the grass areas as well as spraying mud over benches and bins.

The mess was further worsened by recent bad weather.

Leader for Farnworth and Kearlsey first, Cllr Paul Sanders, said: “This type of act is nothing more than mindless and selfish.

“Fortunately only a tiny number of people think that this behaviour is ok, but sadly their impact can have a big negative affect.

“Bolton Council’s Neighbourhood Services deployed street sweepers to make the Broadwalk clear of the mass of slippery mud and jet washers to clean the park furniture.”

The park has recently been regenerated by a volunteer group and the vandalism comes as a blow to their efforts.

But Cllr Sanders says the group are determined the actions of a few individuals will not spoil their efforts over the past year and a half.

He said: “The damage to the grass will take time to restore.

“Farnworth Park is a Grade II Listed Victorian park which has seen countless years of decline.

“However, over the last 18 months a new community group called ‘Friends of Farnworth Park’ have been working hard to improve the park.

“They have reinstated flower beds, cleared paths, replanted the rockeries and done general litter picking.

“Farnworth ward councillors have invested monies into improvements to the play area.

“It is one of the busiest and most enjoyed by youngsters and families in the borough.

“This off ride biker incident is deflating, but the community group with support of councillors will persevere in our efforts to make our park a beautiful, green environment for everyone to enjoy and benefit from.”

Bolton Council has confirmed that Neighbourhood Services were deployed on Tuesday, February 25 to clean up the path and benches.

However, they said that they will have to wait for the weather to improve before repairs can be made to the areas of grass affected.