VANDALS are putting children at risk and costing ratepayers a fortune, council workers have warned.

Les Oakley and Graham Milsom, who work for Northallerton Town Council, in North Yorkshire, said that nearly half their time is spent repairing damage. Key trouble spots include Bullamoor play area in the north-east end of the town and the park at Bank Head.

Mr Milsom said much of the damage was caused by drunken youngsters, who were smashing empty bottles in the parks. "Last weekend, we picked up 144 bottles from Bullamoor," he said.

Mr Oakley said: "They just broke all the bottles inside a children's play ship. The problem with glass is that we cannot pick it all out of the grass. Sooner or later a child is going to fall over and get badly cut."

Other damage has been done to fence railings at the parks. Mr Oakley said the vandals were also jeopardising the town's entry in the Yorkshire in Bloom competition, with flowerbeds and litter bins targeted.

Councillor Jack Dobson, deputy mayor of Northallerton, said: "Our employees spend 40 per cent of their time repairing vandalism, which is a cost on both the tax payer and the police."