Vandals behind a recent spate of wreckage and defacement to the Island's public parks have today been condemned by politicians who called on the community.

Minister of the Environment, Telecommunications and E-Commerce, Neletha Butterfield, expressed "grave concern" at the graffiti and illegal dumping found in parks and along the railway trails in recent weeks.

Now, Government is appealing for the community to come together to combat the senseless acts, which it says represents an attack on Bermuda's environment.

Yesterday, The Royal Gazette obtained photos of the vandalism. In at least two photos, gang symbols and writings could be seen sprayed on playground equipment.

The Department of Parks said within the last six weeks, there's been fire vandalism at Parsons Road on both the roadside and in the playground, with all of the palm trees burned.

Also, the new Shelly Bay playground was covered in graffiti; the new compost toilets at John Smith's Bay were covered in painted graffiti and reinforced glass windows at the recently renovated Martello Tower were shattered.

Ms. Butterfield stated: "I am truly disappointed by the recent events in our Parks and on the Railway Trail. "The staff at the Department of Parks work long hours to make Bermuda's parks and open spaces beautiful for everyone to enjoy. "But it only takes a few minutes for a handful of mischief makers to spoil all the good work."

"We have several hot spots across the Island," Drew Pettit, Park Planner described. Mr. Pettit confirmed the rounds of vandalism found by his officers but refused to speculate on who the culprits were.

"Parsons Road, , is a hot spot. We had an incident, which happened there where the spindle palms in the middle of the playground had their heads chopped off for no apparent reason.

"And a couple of weeks later we found a fire burning three large palms. At John Smith's Bay, we had our composite toilets spray-painted."

Mr. Pettit was clueless as to why someone would commit these destructive acts, especially because the Parks staff work so hard each day to maintain the parks for everyone to enjoy – tourists alike.

He further described it as a lack of respect and an ongoing problem that is suspected to be taking place at night time or after hours.

The other issue is the continued illegal dumping of various piles of waste in the Railway Trails – something the department has been struggling to combat for years.

"On Monday, the dumping was pretty bad on Ord Road, when the park officer went out to inspect the site and found a fresh dumping. "Tuesday morning, the officer went back to the same place only to find that someone dumped another load – this within 24 hours – it was horticultural waste.

"A brand new playground at Shelly Bay was covered in graffiti during the weekend. On Sunday, we had the brand new windows at the Martello Tower at Ferry Point Park, smashed in."

Ms. Butterfield warned that those caught illegally dumping in parks could face prosecution. She added: "We would prefer not to take punitive action against individuals, but be assured that we will not hesitate to do so.

"We have a responsibility to the majority of people who enjoy and appreciate our parks to protect and preserve them from the thoughtless actions of the few who would see them destroyed.

"This lack of respect for the environment will not be tolerated." Additionally, the public is reminded that they could be fined heavily under the Parks Act.