Police have been asked to step up patrols in Liphook after a spate of vandalism in the village.

Radford Park and the Recreation Ground are among the places hit, with damage caused to the park gates and the roofs of the football club and tennis club pavilions.

Debbie Curnow-Ford, of Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council recreation committee, said: “The vandals destroyed the gates at both entrances to the park, not once but twice in the case of the disabled and buggy access path from the Malthouse Meadows car park.”

The county councillor added an urgent meeting with police had been asked for, and that the issue is being brought to the attention of Hampshire’s new police and crime commissioner Donna Jones

Radford Park provides a tranquil, riverside, open green space for all residents and is enjoyed by many every day.

But vandals driving a 4x4 vehicle smashed through the gates in the early hours of Saturday, May 1.

The broken gates have been secured by parish council members Simon Coyte, Jeanette Kirby, Eddie Trotter and council grounds staff.

Liphook United Football Club is also counting the cost of vandalism after youngsters climbed on to the roof of the pavilion and damaged tiles. Someone then apparently jumped over the fence on to the tennis club building, smashing tiles on the roof. There have also been reports of cars being ‘keyed’ in the streets.

Last month the council’s recreation committee noted the Millennium Green and Fletchers Fields were also hotspots for trouble, as are areas around Sainsbury’s.