Charity issues urgent plea as Eastbourne Fort Fun site vandalised

In a video, Defiant Sports spoke out about the vandalism at the former Fort Fun site on the seafront and appealed for those involved to stop.

The charity, split with Wingrove House, is helping refurbish the site, including its outdoor space, for families to enjoy.

However, the site continues to be vandalised, with toilets and other equipment smashed on the floor, and rubbish left on the ground.

Loretta Lock from Defiant Sports said: “I just wanted to share how frustrating it is trying to work the site here at Fort Fun.

"We’ve previously been kindly delivered toilets and sanitary wear that were reused from another building and they are now currently in pieces all over the floor.

"Every day, every week I am coming into the mess.

"We are a charitable organisation and we are trying to do a good thing here. We want to reopen the site as much as everyone else does but every single day, every single week I am coming into carnage.

"Everything we are trying to do is being put backwards.

"I have no indoor storage at the site at the moment because I cannot get the planning permission to go through and my hands are ties and I am trying to do what I can but I need more help."

Loretta also made a plea to residents to help try and find those responsible for the damage.

She said: “If your kids are going out at night and you don’t know where they’re going can you talk to them.

"There is absolutely no justification with what’s going on.

"How am I supposed to make the site better, to make an asset for our town that we all want to see, when the vandalism happens day after day, week after week.

"I can’t even let volunteers on the site while it’s like this as it’s not safe and now I’ve got to waste more time cleaning up what could have been really useful bits of equipment to help us make an accessible sports centre and toilet facilities.”