Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is set to take action after a site under their control has suffered persistent vandalism.

Claybrookes Marsh Nature Reserve, which is built on the site of a former pit in Binley, has been a constant target for vandals, who have smashed boardwalks, defaced memorial plaques and thrown stones at walkers.

Now the Trust is hoping to get together with local residents to protect the picturesque area, as spokesman Phil Clark explains.

"We want to get a group of wardens who can take a walk through the park at various different times and just have a look out for any problems.

"There is a community beat officer who has said that if we have any problems he will come straight down, so it will just be a case of the wardens making a quick telephone call.

"We are also trying to encourage more interaction with local youngsters so that they can see what is down here and what it means, because then it would be like vandalising your back garden.

"We have needed to take action because the problem has been getting worse and on one occasion I was walking with a party of people and we were actually stoned."

Alf Tipper from Coventry City Council’s Estates Department admitted that the situation is very sad.

He said:

"The marsh is named after two miners who died in an accident there in 1947, Jack Clay and James Brookes, and there is also a boardwalk named after a Mr Thomas who was killed in the same incident.

"The vandalism seems to have coincided with the school holiday and we are going to wait until September to assess the damage and repair what we can.

"This is a small minority of people causing this problem and it is a bad reflection on the whole area."