MATLOCK: Teens rebuild vandalised wall
The vandalised wall in Matlock
Teenagers have rebuilt a dry stone wall that was kicked down on land in the Upper Lumsdale area of Matlock.
The wall, which runs along the edge of the property and next to a public footpath used by schoolchildren, has been damaged several times in recent years.
Its owner, Brian Chadbourne, was in the process of rebuilding it over a number of days when youths kicked a large number of stones over, creating a large hole in the wall.
The damage was reported to police and officers from Matlock Safer Neighbourhood Team worked with staff at nearby Highfields School, who helped identify those responsible.
A group of youngsters then agreed to fix the damage they had caused and spent a Saturday rebuilding the wall as part of the Restorative Justice scheme. This sees offenders apologise for their crime and help repair any damage instead of going through the courts.
Mr Chadbourne said: “The wall is quite high so I usually use a loader on the front of a tractor to place the stones on the top of the wall.
“I didn’t have the loader one day so left the stones as they were, and then was told by a walker that it had been kicked over again.
“It takes a lot of hard work to put it right and I felt I had to report it that time. The lads did a good job of fixing it and it is better than them going to court for it.”
PCSO Tammy Bell-Heather, from Matlock Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “The school were fantastic in helping us to identify the teenagers who caused the damage, and the teenagers themselves owned up to what they’d done and were keen to put it right.
“They worked hard to fix the damage on the day and hopefully it will prevent this kind of damage happening to Mr Chadbourne’s property.”
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Weather for Matlock
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North west
