Vandals have destroyed new greenery in a city park just two weeks after it was planted.

New plants were destroyed, canes were broken and seedlings were uprooted in St Ann’s Well Gardens in Hove.

The Friends of St Ann’s Well Gardens (FOSAWG), a local interest group, said it was a “sad sight” they encountered on Friday, April 14.

The plants, which were put in an old stone bath in the park’s sensory garden at the start of the month, will already need to be replaced.

Pippa Smith, chairwoman of the FOSAWG, said: “A lot of new planting is done at this time of year and to see them pulled out and spread around makes me really angry.

“It will take weeks to repair and replant the old bath and for the new plants to come into flower.”

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The sensory garden took years of fundraising and work by the FOSAWG to design and create.

It was intended to provide an area of peace and solace, particularly for vulnerable individuals in the local community.

The sensory garden is designed to be “safe and welcoming to all”, and the FOSAWG group encourages the use of the space by the more vulnerable people in the community.

As part of the upgrades to the park, in September 2021 a new accessible pathway was created and a new pergola was installed at the north end.

The park is now asking individuals to take care in the sensory garden stop ball games and keep dogs under control.

Ms Smith said: “This vandalism is soul destroying for the park and volunteers. They put in hours of work each week to make the sensory garden a place where people can sit in peace and enjoy the sights and smells of the beautiful plants and flowers in it.

“This has to stop. We already have damage in the sensory garden from people playing ball which inevitably go into the flower beds damaging the delicate planting. We have plenty of room for ball games in the rest of the park.”

The park was also hit with graffiti on walls and buildings just last week which costs the friends group time and money to cover.