A COMMUNITY leader has appealed for information after youths caused fire damage to the iconic fountain in Dunville Park on the Falls Road.
The fountain, which dates back to the 1800s, was scorched by youths who gathered in the park to drink on Sunday night.
Lower Falls Community Safety Officer Lisa Lynn said the incident marked "an unfortunate turn of events" following a period of positivity at the park.
“It has been quite settled recently,” she said. “There has been loads of diversionary work going on and we’ve got the pitches back opened again. The Frank Gillen Centre group, the Divis Youth Project and St. Peter’s are in the park every Friday and Saturday night. The unfortunate thing is that, due to a funding shortfall, there are no detached staff from the youth providers working on a Sunday, which is when this vandalism happened."
Lisa says hundreds of children have been using the pitch, which opens to 11pm on Friday and Saturday.
She added: “The park is grand up until about 11pm, but once the detached workers go home and the volunteers leave, the trouble starts. We try to stay as late as we can but you can’t be there 24/7 and at a certain stage it becomes a policing issue.”
Ms Lynn said the fire on Sunday night had caused damage to the stonework on the historic fountain.
“That’s going to cost some money to get repaired,” she said.
RESTORATION PLEA: Conrad Atkinson called for the full restoration of the fountain when he visited Dunville Park in 2007.
Previously, the famed progressive English artist Conrad Atkinson has called for the full restoration of the iconic fountain.
Donated by the wealthy Dunville distillery family to the people of Belfast, Dunville Park was officially opened in 1892.
