TENNIS courts that were given a £70,000 facelift earlier this year have been closed after they were hit by vandals.

The chain link fence surrounding the courts in Roding Valley Recreation Ground, off Roding Lane, Loughton, which were opened in March and are also used for basketball, football and cricket, is thought to have been cut by vandals on Monday.

Ken Angold-Stephens, vice chairman of the recreation committee on Loughton Town Council, which funded the revamp, said: “It’s had to be closed for safety reasons.

“It’s really annoying because of course people value these facilities and they cost a lot of money.

“We always get an upsurge in the popularity of tennis during Wimbledon.

“It was done in broad daylight, which makes it even more surprising.”

He urged anyone who saw anything unusual to report it to the police on 101.

Vandals cut through one of the fences of the games courts in April, after they were locked to protect the new surface from being damaged in a spell of hot weather.

Enid Walsh, the town council’s clerk, said its wardens were patrolling the area more often following the attack, and it had been reported to police, but it was hard to see what else could be done to prevent vandalism.

“We provide a facility for young people and it’s a pity,” she added. “You can’t blame this on there being nothing to do, because there’s this and we’ve left the football posts up.

“There’s enough to do without damaging an important community facility.

“If we made it impenetrable, with a big metal fence, it wouldn’t look right and we’ll have the metal thieves down there with bolt cutters taking it away to sell it.”

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