With just under a fortnight to go until Christmas, towns around the UK are being decked out in festive garb – with light displays, market stalls and fir trees dotting the High Streets.
One seaside town in West Sussex is feeling decidedly un-Christmassy, however – thanks to “vandals” who targeted a large Christmas tree in its town centre.
The tree was unveiled by Worthing Borough Council on Montague Street at the start of December, as a generous donation by the family-run Balcombe Estate.
But, just as Christmas shopping in the town’s busy retail district began to reach its peak, disaster struck and the symbol of festive cheer fell into darkness on Thursday, December 12, after vandals cut the cables powering its fairy light display.
“We’re sorry to confirm that if you’re visiting our town centre, you won’t currently be able to see any festive lights on our Christmas tree,” a spokesperson for the council said yesterday.
“We’ve discovered that the cables leading to the tree in Montague Street have sadly been vandalised, resulting in the tree no longer being lit for everyone to enjoy.”
It prompted an outpouring of sadness and anger from Worthing residents, one of whom said the perpetrators “don’t deserve any good things in their lives as they aim to mindlessly take away pleasure from others”.
Another local, Tim Nicholls, said: “We were blessed to have a magnificent tree donated to us this year. The utterly pathetic low life who did this no doubt thought it was hugely funny to spoil others’ pleasure. I wish they could be found and made to pay for the repairs.
Jan Flowers also said she was “lost for words” and Emma Barker asked: “What is happening to our town? Where are these vandals coming from, it never used to be like this”.
Meanwhile, Sarah Crease described the vandalism as “disgusting behaviour”, suggesting the people behind it “have no conscience”.
Although some of the towering fir’s lights were reinstated on Thursday night, it is not yet back to its former glory and the incident has also put undue financial strain on the local authority.
“With our finances being especially tight at the moment, this is another added cost,” the spokesperson said. “We are currently working out what the next steps are to get the tree looking its best again.”
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