Vandals have struck at the heart of a historic Moray park, causing outrage within the community.
The cricket pavilion at the Cooper Park in Elgin was daubed in spray paint during the attack.
Swear words have been scrawled over doors and walls, alongside an unpleasant selection of obscene drawings.
With the park well used by families, the content of the messages is a concern, while the damage is so widespread that the messages can be seen across the park and even from nearby buildings, including Elgin Library.
Moray Council leader Graham Leadbitter was angered by the incident, though he stressed that vandalism in Elgin remains a fairly uncommon occurrence.
He said: “This kind of antisocial behaviour is incredibly frustrating. It is well known that the council has financial pressures as it is and this wanton vandalism only adds to that.
“The graffiti is something that will be dealt with quickly but fortunately vandalism in Elgin is fairly rare, so hopefully this is an isolated incident.
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“The park is very well-used and this vandalism is very prominent and is an unfortunate thing to happen.
“I would urge anyone who may have seen what happened or who knows who is responsible to contact the police.”
Cooper Park has been a public institute since 1903, when Sir George Cooper gifted both the park and Grant Lodge to the people of Elgin.
Since then it has became one of the most well-used places in the region, with families often having picnics there when the weather is nice.
However, it has become slightly run down in recent years, with the boat pond in particular suffering from an apparent lack of cleaning.
The chairman of Elgin Community Council, Alistair Kennedy, said he too was saddened to hear about the vandalism.
He said: “It’s sad that these things happen because it means that we have to waste resources to fix it. Someone has got to go and clean it up and that costs money.
“Thankfully, these things rarely happen nowadays but when it does it is very difficult to stop.”
Cooper Park could be set for rejuvenation if the Moray Growth Deal goes ahead.
It will be part of a multi-million-pound “cultural quarter” that will see it transformed into a focal point to draw visitors to the region before directing them to various attractions in Moray.
Land for a privately funded four-star hotel in the park has also been identified to go along with those plans.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
