TODDLERS were left with nowhere to play after vandals targeted the only playground in a Gwent town.

Monkey bars and swings next to Blaenavon Leisure Centre were declared unsafe after the attack in which vandals removed several bolts from the equipment, prompting fears it might collapse.

The gates have been padlocked until further notice due to health and safety grounds by officers from Torfaen council since the attack just over a week ago.

In a separate incident, a football pitch off Garn Road was badly damaged when vandals broke into the grounds and drove a car in a figure of eight over the grass at the weekend.

Chris Mason, 33, of Llanover Road, coaches two junior Blaenavon Blues teams who play their matches on this facility, known locally as 'the coke pitch'.

He said the club would not be badly affected by the incident because the season is now finished, but called the vandals "mindless".

The play area in Middle Coedcae Road was built in 2003 using £8,500 raised by the community.

Laura Bray, wife of Reverend Jason Bray, the Vicar of Blaenavon, helped raise the cash.

The mother of two said she was "disappointed" by the vandalism, "because now there is nowhere else for the children of Blaenavon to play".

Lesley Holland, 37, an accounts clerk of Woodland Street, said: "I usually take my three-year-old son here twice a week.

"It's sad that people will do something like this, because they're ruining it for everyone else".

Lorraine Brankley, 39, of Llanover Road, described the damage caused as "appalling".

"We're all paying taxes for these facilities, and it's not fair when someone goes and wrecks them for everyone else," added Mrs Brankley, a duty officer at Blaenavon Leisure Centre.

Councillor Tom Huish is calling for a security camera to be installed on the side of the leisure centre which overlooks the play area.

A Torfaen council spokesman said the play area would be closed until the necessary parts arrived from the manufacturer, when repairs could be carried out.

A Gwent Police spokesman said: "Officers will be liaising with Torfaen council who are due to carry out a site visit to the play area shortly. We will conduct our own inquiries from then on."