PARENTS have been left fuming after mindless vandals launched another attack on Cowan Park’s play area.

The park, which underwent a £250,000 upgrade last year, has been subjected to numerous incidents of vandalism, including yobs scattering litter and setting fire to equipment.

The latest attack took place last week, when black graffiti was sprayed on the children’s slide.

READ MORE: Firebugs slammed after latest attack on Cowan Park​

One parent, who asked not to be named, told the Barrhead News: “Something really needs to be done to stop this happening, as it’s clear the council don’t think it is worthwhile investing in CCTV, even after all the money they spent on renovating the park.

“Youths constantly congregate in the play park to drink at the weekends and it’s the residents staying across from the park who are suffering from the noise and the effects of fire and vandalism.”

At the latest meeting of Barrhead Community Council, there were calls for new CCTV coverage at Cowan Park in a bid to deter vandals.

Claire Reid, community resource manager for East Renfrewshire Council, told the meeting: “Around the Cowan Park area, we have cameras that are an ageing resource as they have been up for a long time.

“Just now, we are upgrading all the existing cameras and, once that is done, we will look at what we’ve got left to enable us to look at new sites for cameras.

READ MORE: No CCTV for Cowan Park but £500k marked for camera upgrades

“In relation to Cowan Park, at the moment, there is a camera at the skate park and there are quite a few at Barrhead High School. Although we don’t have a specific camera in Cowan Park, we have the ones at the skate park and the school, so we can monitor the park from these areas.

“As part of the upgrade, we are designing new re-deployable cameras. These can be put on a lighting column. This is what we are looking at for the area at the moment. These will give us the advantage of, if things change, then we can easily move them.”

A spokesperson for East Renfrewshire Council added that community safety officers will continue to monitor Cowan Park.

“It was extremely disappointing to see further damage caused to the play equipment at Cowan Park,” said the spokesperson.

“Vandalism to our public spaces is completely unacceptable. The cost of repairs puts additional pressure on our annual budget and prevents residents from enjoying the space.

“The graffiti has been removed and our community safety officers will continue to monitor the area.”