In article , Sue & Bob Hobden
writes

At least our Council weld the padlock to the chain which is itself welded to
the gate so it can't be nicked without tools.
When Sue with the help of friends caught 6 kids that were stoning her the
police came quickly and let them go after taking their names, saying "Oh we
know their families, doesn't surprise us".
But nothing was done!
I, with the help of the Swan Sanctuary next door, have taken to blocking up
their paths and entry points with all sorts of things like piles of rotting
veg, swan shit, fly tipping rubbish......and planting more brambles. It's
had an effect, as has actually talking, passing the time of day, to some
older kids seen on site.

Cuttings off brambles, when they dry, are better than barbed wire. :-)

We run a nature Park which is right in the Town Centre, so also suffer
from vandalism. We can't keep people out altogether, obviously! But
decreasing the number of entry points helps, as does trying to reduce
the number of places where people can congregate unseen - our seats are
in very open and visible areas, and never two together.

I'm encouraging brambles around the edge, both to bar access and to trap
litter from the adjacent industrial estate.

We also have to be aware of possible temptation - don't leave anything
moveable near the ponds, for example! And removing litter bins
altogether has decreased the amount of litter.

Talking to kids also helps. We also take our work into schools and get
ourselves known as people, IYSWIM. Might be scope for you to do
something similar.

Our worst period is May - June when the children are on 'standby' from
school because of exams. By July, they're more interested in earning
money than in setting fire to dens, and we're back to routine litter
picking for the rest of the year.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm