Vandals damage Wigan nature reserve

Youths littered Three Sisters nature reserve in Bryn and even jumped into the bird feeding station to destroy feeding tables over the weekend.

The attack follows a spate of incidents which have seen youths gathering and anglers camping and lighting fires overnight near the lake.

Friends of Three Sisters, who help maintain the wildlife wetland reserve, voiced their dispair today, a spokesperson saying: “Three Sisters been trashed yet again this week by gangs of youths. They even jumped into the bird feeding station to wreck bird tables.

“They have no respect for green spaces which other people need.”

Joy Winstanley, who is secretary of the group, said the nature reserve also had problems with fishermen.

She said: “You can fish at the lake but there are regulations.

“They’e up on a board which people keep breaking down into the lake.

“You can’t stay overnight but we’ve had fishermen camping here for days and chopping down trees to make fires.

“If we approach them we’d just get a mouthful off them.

“We’ve reported this to the police and council but there’s no one to police it and there haven’t been any rangers here for years.”

Danny Fletcher, who is a Labour council candidate in Ashton, described the situation as “awful”.

He said: “I’ve been told that police upped their patrols over the weekend in response to littering and gangs of youths gathering.

“Our Ashton councillors have also been looking at locking the access gates which haven’t been locked.

“It’s been warm this past week and we have seen a spike in youths gathering and drinking here and it links in with the probems there have been with nitrous oxide canisters.

“There have also been reports of people fishing and camping in the area around the lake.

“None of this is great as there’s gathering and social distancing goes out of the window.

“I just hope police continue to patrol the hot spots and and youths start listening and showing some respect for the area.”

Coun Jenny Bullen, who represents Ashton on Wigan Council and who is the portfolio holder for children and families, described the behaviour as “abhorrent.”

She said: “The police and council are awaware of the issues.

“The vandalism is abhorrent and it’s a difficult time for people during lockdown as they feel very restricted.

“However we all have a responsibility to look after our wonderful green spaces and despite the borough being largely urban, we have a high percentage of green spaces.”