‘MINDLESS thugs’ who destroyed a primary school garden have been slammed for ruining months of hard work by local children.
Teachers and adult helpers have vowed they won’t let the vandals win after the garden space at Inverkip Primary School was trashed over the weekend.
Plant pots in the garden were smashed and items left strewn across the school playground.
Members of the village’s volunteer gardening group, Blooming Inverkip, discovered several broken planters on Sunday after receiving a call reporting damage to the school garden.
Angry pupils after the damage was discovered at the weekend. (Image: George Munro) The Blooming Inverkip team have been working with Inverkip’s P2 class over the last few months to create a bright and cheerful garden space which Bob Russell, Blooming Inverkip’s founder, now says has been ‘ruined’.
Bob told the Tele it was ‘very sad that people take pleasure in attempting to ruin a wonderful community partnership’.
He said: “Why attack a school? That’s essentially what that is, a mindless attack.”
“The kids have been doing brilliant, and we have had such a great collaboration, so it is sad to see their hard work be ruined.
“We are not going to let some mindless thugs trump us on this, so I think turning it into a positive is what we need to do.”
The pupils were left upset after their work with Blooming Inverkip was ‘ruined’. (Image: George Munro) Bob says he has been speaking with the community wardens and police about the incident and is urging anyone who has information to get in contact with them.
The gardener believes the area is becoming a ‘hot spot’ for loutish behaviour and hopes the problem can be nipped in the bud.
He added: “We are going to try and turn this into something more positive than what it currently is.
“Some volunteers from Blooming Inverkip have been helping to clear the damage and trying to retrieve some of the plants by replanting them in other planters.”
Cardwell Garden Centre have said they will fund replacement planters for the school and Bob and his team will be back out to ‘as soon as possible’ to get the garden back to normal.
“We will get back out there and fix it,” Bob said, “showing those who want to interfere in what we are trying to do for the community who the bigger person is.
“They can knock it down ten times and we will just build it back up ten times.”
The Inverkip youngsters have spent months working with Bob Russell and his team from Blooming Inverkip. (Image: George Munro) After posting about the incident on social media, Blooming Inverkip received an instant outpouring of support from locals calling out the ‘mindless idiots’ and offering to help replace the planters.
The damage comes only weeks after the school’s P2 class won a competition at the Scone Palace Garden Fair for their work with Bob to create an Alice in Wonderland-themed attraction – a piece of work which fortunately was left untouched by the vandals who targeted the school.
Una Nicolson, Inverkip Primary’s head teacher, said: “Staff and pupils were disappointed to discover that several of the plant pots hanging from the school railings had been damaged over the weekend in an act of vandalism.
“The damage was swiftly reported by Blooming Inverkip to both the community wardens and police, and we are grateful for their prompt action in highlighting the incident.
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“In true Inverkip spirit, this setback has only strengthened our sense of community.
“We have been heartened by the kindness and support shown by our partners, with Cardwell Garden Centre generously offering to replace the damaged pots and plants free of charge.
“Their gesture reflects the community values that underpin our shared efforts to nurture pride and care for our local environment.
“The children have taken such joy in contributing to the planting, and we are determined that this project will continue to bloom – symbolising resilience, cooperation, and the power of community action that align with our ROAR values [respect, open-mindedness, attitude and responsibility].
The school thanked the local community for rallying round to help restore the garden. (Image: George Munro) “We would like to thank all those involved in supporting our pupils and helping to keep our village vibrant and welcoming for all.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 3.10pm on Sunday, June 8 we received a report of damage to property at a school in the Inverkip area.
“Enquiries are at an early stage.”