VANDALS have caused £1,000 of damage to benches and trees at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Conigre Mead nature reserve in Melksham.

A new bench has been wrenched out of the ground and the legs sawn off. In addition, an old bench, pieces of timber and dead wood and young trees have been set on fire.

One tree has been stripped of its bark on the lower trunk by the vandals, who also left litter strewn around the site.

The Trust said: “We are extremely disappointed and upset to have had this vandalism and arson take place at our Conigre Mead nature reserve.

“A lot of staff and volunteer time goes into preserving the area for the benefit of both wildlife and people and there are cost implications for repairing the area.”

“This has a real impact on the work we can do and will take valuable staff time away from conservation work to rectify.”

“We are also very concerned by the arson, if conditions were right then this fire could have easily spread and caused a lot more damage.”

The Trust said that Wiltshire Police have been informed.