A PICNIC table donated to replace one stolen at an urban forest has been taken and smashed.

It belonged to the group of volunteers that look after the Hreod Burna Urban Forest in Gorse Hill.

The first heavy plastic picnic bench was taken in May.

The A-frame seat was worth £125 and had been in place for two years.

After the bench theft was covered in the Adver, two kind Swindonians donated a bench to the group in June.

That should have been an end to the story, but now the new bench and another were taken, vandalised, and dumped.

Josie Lewis, membership and communities officer for Hreod Burna, was outraged.

She said: “This is nasty and mean.

“One of the six benches got nicked, then it was replaced.

“Then, last week, someone carted it over to Southbrook Recreation Ground, which is just opposite us, for a barbecue.

“Since then, planks have been ripped off the top of them and they’ve been damaged beyond repair.

“I’m not sure if the people who took it are the same people who wrecked it, but they might be. The police have been informed.”

The 17 acres of green open space between Pinehurst and Gorse Hill were saved from becoming a 250-home development in 2013 after public outcry and protests.

It’s the largest urban woodland in Swindon.

Josie added: “This is a haven for wildlife, with lots of trees and a bluebell wood.

“It’s an ideal place to come and relax.

“The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, VetsForPets and Nationwide support us.

“We are a very small charity, reliant on donations, volunteers and grants for funding.

“These picnic tables can cost more than £100 each.

“Someone was kind enough to give a picnic bench to us in our time of need and now some yobs have thoughtlessly vandalised it and another one.”

Richard Parry, 46, from Gorse Hill, who often visits the park, said: “This is terrible.

“This area is like a green oasis in the middle of quite a built up area and a lot of people come here and use it.

“It’s nice to be able to sit and relax in the sunshine.

“It seems very malicious and spiteful to do this when people were kind enough to replace the previous bench.”

If you can help police, call 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.