A LOCAL councillor has condemned the vandalism of a sculpture erected at the entrance to Andy Doyle Close after part of it was broken off.

Cllr. John O’Rourke told The Echo that he had been alerted to the broken statue, a black marble sculpture of a trout, which had had its tail broken off. The broken piece was, he believed, retrieved by the Town Council but the statue, which was unveiled approximately two-and-a-half years ago, currently stands broken.

“It’s complete vandalism and it’s scandalous to think that in this day and age this is still happening. Where is the sense of civic pride?”

Cllr. O’Rourke believed, by the look of the break, that the deed had been done by kids but was quick to withhold placing blame at the feet of local residents: “It could have been done by anybody, local or otherwise. We don’t know but it’s clear that there’s no respect on the part of whoever did do this.”

He added that a Multi User Games Area (MUGA) was green lit for the area in the near future.