A YOUNG Dunfermline girl has expressed her sadness that part of a play area at Pittencrieff Park has been out of action for the summer holidays after being badly damaged by vandals.

St Margaret’s Primary pupil Mhairi McGirr was so infuriated to see the much-loved facility – which was subject to severe fire damage at the end of last year – still fenced off that she wrote to the Press to express her disappointment.

“I am really sad and angry because there has been vandalism at Pittencrieff Park,” she said.

“It has been burnt down. There was a tower to climb to get to the slide and whoever started a fire at the bottom also started a fire in the slide.

“The ropes to hold on to and climb are burnt too. It was really sad to come home from our holiday and see the park like this.

"It is such a shame that people felt this was a good thing to do for ‘fun’ in a short amount of time. In actual fact, it has really spoiled a lot of fun time for a lot of people, young and old, particularly during the school summer holidays.”

Mum Carole said her daughter – and friends – were keen to see the playpark restored to its former glory.

“Somebody has done it in a minute and it has caused this amount of damage which is a real shame,” she said.

“She was concerned because she couldn’t play the day we went but so many people use it and nobody can play on it now. We just want it brought back to working order.”

Fife Council told the Press that a contractor was now in place to carry out the repairs and work is due to start sometime this month.