An Edgware park that has been blighted by vandalism is among half a dozen which are to be locked at night.

Stonegrove Park, off Stonegrove, will be locked every night after a motion was passed by Barnet Council at its cabinet meeting last month .

Princes Park in Park Way, Golders Green, will also be locked and a further six parks Cherry Tree Woods in East Finchley; Watling Park in Burnt Oak; Stoneyfields Park in Edgware; Malcolm Park in West Hendon; Greenhill Gardens in Oakleigh Park and Ravenscroft Gardens in Barnet are due to follow in the future.

Edgware councillor Helena Hart said: "Stonegrove Park is a nice park, with a nice feeling, and we've been fighting for this for a very long time."

And further improvements could be in the pipeline for the park, which has in the past suffered persistent vandalism, such as bins and benches being set alight and graffiti.

The National Grid, which has constructed a tunnel underneath Edgware Road, has said it will consider paying for community projects in the immediate vicinity of the tunnel as a goodwill gesture.

Mrs Hart said she would meet with residents to discuss how money could be spent on the park, perhaps to improve the children's play area or lay a jogging track. She added that she had been reassured of the tunnel's safety after visiting it with National Grid representatives.

"I was happier when I came out than when I went in. It's only when you go down flights and flights of stone steps that you realise how far down it is," she said.