VANDALS targeted one of Monmouth’s youth recreational areas in a mindless act of sabotage last week.

Sometime between Friday 22nd and Staurday 23rd, cement was deliberately left on the area used by skateboarders.It was only due to the quick thinking of some of the youth from Monmouth and Coleford that more serious implications were avoided.They alerted the directors of the skatepark and kept the cement dust wet until help arrived in the form of brushes and scrapers.Both the Co-op and the firestation stepped in to provide extra water and brushes and the cement was removed before anyone inhaled the caustic dust.The act was done at the start of half term and could have caused serious injury if it had come into contact with skin or been inhaled.Cement can cause caustic injury and result in chemical burns to any part of the body it comes in contact with - skin and eyes, mouth and throat if swallowed, and lungs if cement powder is inhaled. Cement is largely made up of calcium oxide.One of the directors of the Skatepark, Shirley Hughes, told the Beacon: “‘The Directors of Monmouth Off Street Project would like to thank the young people from Monmouth and Coleford who worked so hard with us to clear up the concrete that had been deposited on the Skatepark sometime over Friday night. “If it hadn’t been for the quick action of one of our younger riders who alerted us, part of the Skatepark may have been completely damaged and unusable. “I was very disappointed that there was a large number of young people who had come to use the park on the first day of their half term, and someone had deliberately tried to sabotage their facility. This was a case of mindless vandalism and so the incident has been reported to the police. If anyone knows who was responsible, please can you let us know via our Facebook page.”