A popular children's play area in Radstock has been vandalised, just days after police posed at the gates of it to thank locals for social distancing.

The Tom Huyton Park had been closed due to the government's coronavirus lockdown, but park maintenance crews were still working there, cleaning the equipment ready for the hoped re-opening soon.

Now one of the most favoured pieces of equipment, the tallest of the climbing frames, has been tagged with racist and homophobic painted slogans.

Nub News has chosen not to show the worst of the damage, believed to have happened between Tuesday and Thursday this week.

Officials have described the vandalim as " stupid and mindless" saying that there was now a considerable cost to cleaning the space up while more beneficial work could have been undertaken.

The park is a popular spot in Radstock and last week the police posed at the gates to thank local residents to adhering to the coronavirus rules.

Town Council workers have been hoping that it would be one of the first public areas to re-open and had been cleaning and checking all the pieces of equipment ready for the changes in the rules.

The town's public spaces have been shut under the coronavirus pandemic, so the vandals would also have had to jumped over the fences to get in.

The daubing is a third piece of vandalism in Radstock in the past week.

Vandals broke the gates of the play area in Southfields and the fire service was called out when a gas bottle was set alight at the football ground.

The park officer, who did not wish to be named, told Nub News:" This anti social behaviour just costs everyone. Do people not have anything better than this petty vandalism? We want to have a lovely park to come back to, which we should all be proud of, this mindlessness is making that harder."