POLICE have launched an investigation after vandals wrecked a new concrete path designed to help elderly people avoid a dangerous junction - and then left names carved in it.

The path in Bedale was concreted as part of a major move to encourage people to use the off road passageway, avoiding a notorious junction known as Five Lane Ends.

The road junction at Firby Road and Sussex Street has been the focus of intense campaigning for road safety improvements following a fatality but highway officials have not been able to come up with anything to help because of the layout of the junction and costs.

The path, which takes pedestrians away from the road junction, connects Sussex Street and Firby Road leading to local schools, the leisure centre and doctors’ surgery.

But within hours of the work being carried out vandals had put footprints through the wet cement, effectively destroying the base.

The work was done with financial backing from the Bedale and Villages Community Forum and the town council who now face having to pay out for the work to be done again.

Yvonne Rose, of the community forum said: “Trying to improve safety for people who want to walk to the surgery, school or leisure centre is an ongoing priority for the forum.

“We do not have enough money to completely reconfigure the Firby Road junction but upgrading the footpath from Sussex Street to Firby Road would encourage people to use it to avoid the junction.

“ The damage to the wet concrete has made it unusable for anyone with poor vision or mobility. The town council will now have to spend more money to repair it.”

It is estimated repairs are going to cost between £300 and £500.

One elderly resident said: “It is annoying. We have been waiting for this work to be done. That area is incredibly busy and residents take their life in their hands using the road junction, so the path was seen as a way forward. Now we’re back to square one.

“Whoever did this must have arrived within minutes or hours of the concrete being laid, and they have put footprints along the full length of the path. It is a great shame because it’s very uneven now and older people really struggle to use it.”

Police have been asked to investigate and are looking at any connection with three names left in the concrete and the culprits.