A CITY councillor has vowed not to give in to the "mindless vandals" who have destroyed a number of saplings in Worcester.

Coun Derek Prodger said the trees that have been ripped down along New Road would be replaced this autumn.

He said the possibility of installing CCTV cameras would also be considered by Worcester City Council to prevent such damage being done again.

At least half-a-dozen trees have been destroyed since being planted in the autumn of 2000.

"We aren't going to give in to vandalism," said Coun Prodger. "We are going to re-plant them in the growing season.

"When we first put them up, we thought people would respect them and we only put up metre-high support for them.

"But if you have faith in human nature, you sometimes get let down."

He said the new trees would be given much greater protection to prevent a repeat of the vandalism.

"This has been done by mindless people who have nothing better to do," said Coun Prodger.

"I'm trying to keep this city a beautiful place. It only takes a few people to spoil things for everyone else.

"I want to see a camera around that area, if that's what it takes. I don't want to be Big Brother, but this is the wrong way to behave."

The council's landscape architect Chris Dobbs confirmed at least half a dozen trees had been damaged.

"The trees cost £80 each to buy, and the labour to plant each one is another £20," he said.

"The one option we have got is to put up metal grids around them, which will add a considerable amount to the cost. We put these trees up for 99.9 per cent of society to enjoy, but a tiny minority ruin it for everyone.

"It's very frustrating."

n Opinion: P6