A COUNCILLOR has hit out at “empty head” vandals as a new lamp post was cut down before it was even finished – after the culprits seemingly mistook it for a CCTV camera.
Wayne Dixon, who represents the Social Democratic Party in Leeds, wrote on Tuesday of his frustration with the mindless vandals.
The culprits struck on Monday evening in Middleton Park, in the south of the city, where they cut down new lighting that locals had requested in the area.
Dixon suspected the culprits may have struck after believing that the pole was set to host CCTV cameras, at a time when ULEZ cameras in London especially are being targeted and cut down by “activists”.
Dixon posted images of the dismantled lighting columns, which had only been installed on Friday, lying on the grass.
They appear to be practically sawn in half, with the base of one light still in the ground, and the pole, almost in two pieces, discarded.
Barriers around the work area also appear to have been knocked over.
Wayne shared the pictures to social media on Tuesday with the caption: “Can you believe this? We funded some new lighting for a local path.
“Still sawed down before [we] finished because of empty heads who thought (I guess) that we were installing CCTV.”
The post has since received a slew of likes and comments from social media users left shocked by the vandalism.
One commented: “Temptation now would be to install CCTV to prevent recurrence. Some absolute numpties out there.”
Another said: “What’s the cost of flying drones with infra-red cameras overhead a few hours a night?”
A third wrote: “Trail cams. Put them up everywhere now instead, dirt cheap. If drug dealing divvies want to knock down cameras, fine, let them hunt high and low for them.
“Keep them on edge. Let them squirm. Failing that, hire a private investigator or amateur photographer for a week.”
Another added: “Can you put a sign on the stump saying, ‘This was going to be a light to improve safety for people out walking, not CCTV you cretins’?”
A fifth joked: “He must have been a complete idiot. It’s funnier to cut it off only after the camera is installed.”
