Sheffield man reports sad destruction of local woodland as teenage vandals tear up brambles for a BMX track

Jonathan Cooper, aged 55, from Fulwood, Sheffield, found dense vegetation had been torn up at Forge Dam Park near Whiteley Lane - and wrote to Sheffield City Council’s Parks and Countryside team to lodge his concerns.

He wrote: “At least four boys... have been using shovels to carve out many metres of an unauthorised and possibly illegal large dirt mountain bike or BMX cycle track removing and digging up vegetation and brambles through this woodland haven.

“These are not youngsters deprived of park opportunities where they can safely ride their bikes. This area is rich with safe cycling trails.

“They fail to understand the damage they are causing and will no doubt continue to cause further damage to the environment, wildlife and biodiversity unless someone with the correct authority can prohibit them from doing so.

“The current damage appears to be nearly irreparable already and would need a lot of work from council parks staff to remedy.”

Mr Cooper reported the boys had also created a ramp out of paving stone and that he has repeatedly been dismissed by the group when he has urged them to stop.

Shortly after lodging his complaint with the council, Mr Cooper information South Yorkshire Police hoping an officer could come by and discourage any further damage to the environment.

He told The Star: “This is so sad because I tried to deter these youngsters with gentle advice twice before today in the hope they would stop but given their clear resistance to stopping I have been left with no choice but to alert the authorities before the damage gets even more out of hand.”

Staff from the council Parks and Countryside team have now left a notice at the site of the makeshift bike track instructing the vandals to stop.

It reads: “We will be undertaking the removal of unauthorised bike trail features, allowing the woodland to return to its previous condition.

“Official cycle tracks are available at Wharncliffe Woods, Bolehills Recreation Ground, Parkwood Springs and Lady Cannings Plantation.”

Photographs of the DIY bike track show the sheer amount of brambles and grassland that has been torn up. Soil appears to have been compacted into a banked curve.

The council notice adds: “Excavation works are extremely damaging to woodland ecology. It leads to declining tree health due to root damage, soil compaction and erosion, loss of plant communities and the soils they rely on, and disturbance of wildlife, including ground nesting birds.

“It also endangers members of the public using the footpath network.”