VANDALS who struck at Wellington Park on the eve of the town's annual gardening contest have been caught.

Addressing Town Councillors at a meeting on Monday, August 7, neighbourhood police sergeant Jon O'Connor confirmed the culprits had been caught. Branding the attack 'shameful', he said:

"The park is the jewel in Wellington’s crown and something the town is rightly proud of so this was a shameful, senseless act. Fortunately our team was patrolling that evening and were quickly on scene at the park to gather the relevant evidence and identify those responsible.

"We now have a small cohort of young people we are routinely targeting and they have been referred for a combination of enforcement sanctions and restorative conditions to prevent further offending behaviour throughout the summer.

"I was very pleased to see the swift repair work undertaken at the park the following morning and the awarding of Green Flag status once again was the perfect recovery."

It followed an attack which saw plant beds ripped up, a fire set in the park's toilets and damage caused to a seating area.

Local residents quickly moved to replant flowers and make good the damage as well as they could in advance of Wellington in Bloom judges arriving in the town.