A SMALL village has been left in despair after vandals damaged vital playground equipment and football goal posts.

Shabbington Village near Aylesbury has suffered a number of vandalisms, with the goal posts in Millenium Field damaged as well as playground equipment graffitied.

Richard Smith, chairman of the Parish Council in Shabbington, has set up a fundraising page after becoming inundated with repairs.

The money will also be used to replace the goal posts which was vital for children in the local area and surrounding villages.

Mr Smith said: "At the beginning of the year the goal posts were vandalised and the playground equipment got damaged and we also had to replace some other items that failed a safety inspection.  On top of that, we had to replace the safety surface, which added to an eye-watering £25,000, leaving our bank balance empty.

"We've always had goal posts there and the amount of kids that came and cycled in from Thame, and those who live in close proximity like Ickford Village used them so it meant a great deal to them.

"It would be great to have goal posts again as we could then set up a village team and have competitions and it would be nice to see the kids enjoy the space again."

The fundraising page has a target of £3,000 with anything extra raised to improve the existing playground equipment.

Richard said he has an infinite wish list of equipment he'd like to purchase, including a zip line and outdoor shelter for parents to hide away when it's raining.

"It's a dream to have a large playground and the wish list is infinite. Our village is very small, there's 200 houses and there's a small park called the Millenium Field, so there's not a huge amount to do.

"I believe kids that come to use the goals got bored and they also graffiti over all the new equipment which took a vast amount of time to scrub off, so it's sheer boredom. We came up with an idea to provide a container so they can do artwork on. It's really important to get the goal posts to generate a wide audience into the village. "

Visit https://gofund.me/d3319b16 to donate.