A BOOZY Oktoberfest event left a town centre park torn up and full of holes.

Revellers packed into a giant tent set up in the centre of GWR Park off Faringdon Road at the end of last month.

But neighbours are shocked at the state the green space was left in after the party ended and everything was taken down.

Patches of grass have been trampled, muddy puddles have turned parts of the park into a quagmire, and deep holes have been bored into the ground.

Three weeks after the event ended, the damage is still clear to see and metal fencing has been put up to keep people away from the worst-affected areas.

Swindon Advertiser:

Neighbour Danny Durkin said: “The event was great for Swindon and brought people together, but when I was out walking my dog I was horrified seeing the deep holes.

“They could be dangerous for kids playing, or dogs, or people with wheelchairs and pushchairs because now you can’t go in certain parts of the field.

“Metal mats were put in place to try and stop to much damage to the grass but then they had forklift trucks dragging it all off the field which made using the mats pointless.

“The organisers should be paying for a team of people to fix this issue and sort it out or have had a team leader watching the dismantling of the structure to make sure it was done correctly.

“It will now take quite a long time for the grass to regrow.”

Another neighbour who did not wish to give his name added: “I’m surprised it still looks this bad.

“There have been plenty of big events held in the park before where just a few days later, you can’t tell there was ever anything there.

“This hass turned a nice green space into a bit of an eyesore.”

Coun Neil Hopkins is chair of South Swindon Parish Council's leisure, environment and amenities committee.

He said: "We have been in discussions with the organisers and they are paying for the rectification of the grounds after heavy vehicles went over them.

"The issue is we need the right ground conditions to do the repairs because if it's too wet, that won't solve the problem, it just needs a small window of dry weather to put things right."

The Adver approached the Oktoberfest Swindon organisers for comment but did not receive a response.