Express & Star

Vandals destroy orchard at Bridgnorth country park

A popular country park in Bridgnorth under threat from large scale development has suffered a further blow after vandals have destroyed a community orchard.

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Damage to the trees

About £170 damage has been caused at Stanmore Country Park, as over half of the fruit trees planted by volunteers were snapped overnight.

Members of the Friends of Stanmore Country Park group awoke to the ruined orchard earlier this week.

Volunteers said eight of the 14 trees planted using community funds have been irreparably damaged and that the hard work put in to raise funds for the plants has been overlooked.

Damage to the trees

West Mercia Police has been informed and are asking dog walkers and anybody using the park to report suspicious activity to them on 101.

Stuart Blaze, volunteer with the Friends of Stanmore Country Park group, said: "Why on earth would anyone do this? It's completely mindless.

"The community orchard was planted in 2017 as something for everybody in the community to share and a lot of love and care has gone into it, just like it has with the rest of the park."

Damage to the trees

He added: "The volunteer team at Stanmore already feels under siege, what Shropshire Council's development plans hanging over our heads and the environmental vandalism that it will cause if it goes ahead, so this just feels like more of the same – it's a blow to morale at a time when morale is already very low."

Planted in 2017, the orchard included nine varieties of apple trees, one damson tree, a gage, a pear and a plum tree.

Each species was chosen because of its historic association with Shropshire and adjacent counties.