Memorial bench vandalised

by Lisa Reeves
Saturday 13th July 2013
Sat 13th Jul 2013
photo-17

The memorial bench to Nurse Maud Hatton, which is located outside the Royal Bank of Scotland, appears to have been vandalised.

The original bench, which was in a dreadful condition, was replaced with a new one by Alderley Edge Parish Council in May 2012.

It was fine when I passed by on Friday lunchtime but several people contacted us on Saturday morning to say it had been vandalised, presumably overnight..

Cllr Duncan Herald said "The bench was first put there to comemorate a village 'notable'... it was replaced recently by the Parish Council... now we see just how little some people 'care' for their community."

The original bench was funded through the parish and local well-wishers following the death of Nurse Maud Hatton in 1992.

Nurse Hatton was well known in the village, she took over as district nurse from her mother and is described as being a 'great asset to the village' by Harold Smith, chairman of Alderley Edge History Society.

Updated: 16th July 5pm. Please see comments below. Apparently the bench was not vandalised but collapsed when two ladies were sat on it waiting for a friend.

Tags:
Nurse Hatton
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Melanie Connor
Saturday 13th July 2013 at 1:30 pm
I am furious at the vandalism. I saw it first thing this morning and think it can only have been done in last 24hrs.. If those responsible are local we should name & shame them. With the burning of the picnic table in the park & now this, I wonder if they are related by the culprit(s).
Duncan Herald
Saturday 13th July 2013 at 5:31 pm
Hopefully the Parish Council will replace the damaged bench...perhaps this time with a metal one in the hopes that such will resest the destructive attempts of the mind-damaged scum!
Chris Jones
Saturday 13th July 2013 at 11:38 pm
I have mentioned before that this bench was vandalised back in January and I reported the incident to the police. I did point out at the time that a CCTV camera sits above but they wouldn't venture to look at footage.

The reason I was given was that I wasn't the owner of the bench, so they couldn't Persue the matter.

To be honest,with what's going on in Wilmslow at the moment(travellers) and our spates of mindless vandalism in Alderley, it may be time to stop paying council tax in protest to lack of services.
David Hadfield
Sunday 14th July 2013 at 9:46 am
Yes, you're correct .............. Pure Scum !
I suspect that whoever did this does not live in the village and is probably someone (Yes, Scum) who live outside the area and have decided to take their revenge on the quality of this village by doing this .......... pure mindless vandalism !
Obviously someone who has a chip on their shoulder !
Margaret Woodall
Sunday 14th July 2013 at 5:25 pm
i was out jogging at 5.30am and noticed that Nurse Hattons bench had been vandalised also a pannel had been smashed in on the footpath going down to the station along with bins tipped over on Davey Lane which makes me think it is local drunkards for want of a better word. I run through the village several times a week in the mornings and have noticed over the past few weeks that some idiots are also defacing the flower beds in the village i frequently pass torn out plants strewn around the footpaths.There are supposed to be CCTV cameras in and around the village so why aren't these incidents being picked up on, what a sad world we now live in I pity the next generation Alderley used to be a nice place to live in but unfortunately not any more.
David Clark
Monday 15th July 2013 at 6:12 am
It is deeply upsetting to see what has happened to the memorial bench
The drunks who come out of the bars and clubs at 2am on Friday and Saturday nights were certainly responsible for trashing the bins on Clifton Street a few weeks ago and this incident is probably their handiwork
Ricky Lee
Monday 15th July 2013 at 2:48 pm
It would be a nice gesture if the bars and clubs of Alderley to contribute to a new bench.
Duncan Herald
Monday 15th July 2013 at 2:53 pm
B*****s have also dug up/stolen some of the newly planted flowers in the park.
Someone has kindly attempted to put the bits of the bench back together; its rather rickety, don't sit on it.
Are there still police authorities who say that beat police patrols on foot are a waste of resources? When did you last see a 'copper' in the village? Our PCSO does a good job, but the man can't be there 24/7.
The last police inspector, from Wilmslow, was always happy to come and talk to the Parish Council and listen to what we wanted; I'm not sure that the present incumbent has been to see us (I've certainly not seen anyone).
The CCTV is the responsibility of Cheshire East Council; please get on to them if you feel strongly about all this; s/he who shouts loudest etc.?
Do any of you have proposals as to how we can combat these morons? If so, tell us and perhaps we can try; sadly armed vigilantes are frowned upon!
Ricky Lee
Monday 15th July 2013 at 3:34 pm
Duncan,

Do you wanna borrow my son's crossbow?
David Hadfield
Monday 15th July 2013 at 3:50 pm
Thanks for the comment, Duncan.
I'm afraid that these days, thugs, yobs, morons and idiots will always do this sort of thing.
I'd like to suggest chopping hands off, but guess that probably wouldn't get past the Council Ethics Committee ?
Chris Jones
Monday 15th July 2013 at 5:02 pm
Make the bars close at the latest midnight,after all Alderley edge is a village.
Melanie Connor
Monday 15th July 2013 at 6:47 pm
I'm all for stocks on the precinct car park - old tomatoes supplied by residents. Name and shame wherever they come from. Never mind CEC Ethics - imagine H&S!
Ricky Lee
Monday 15th July 2013 at 11:29 pm
Melanie, We can use the wood from the bench to make stocks! That would be poetic justice!
Veronica Jackson
Tuesday 16th July 2013 at 4:48 pm
I can assure you this bench was NOT vandalised!!! Me and my friend were waiting for another friend and sat on the bench to wait for them to arrive and it collapsed! The doorman at The Botanist saw it as did a passing couple, and yes both myself and my friend live in the area and are not scum both mothers on an evening out. This was not vandalism at all I have reported it to the police they have my name and number and will be able to see on CCTV it was an accident!!!
Natalie Bridge
Tuesday 16th July 2013 at 4:54 pm
The bench was not vandalised!! It collapsed when a young girl sat on it while waiting for her friend to use the cash machine. The CCTV will prove this and the girls contacted the neighbourhood police to inform them straight away
Wendy Scott
Tuesday 16th July 2013 at 5:10 pm
John Dwyer The Police Commissioner should be notified about all this vandalism in Alderley Edge. He is the liason between the public and the police. He is holding a surgery in Wilmslow on July 23rd and a representative should go along and make him aware of all the facts. I am sure he will make sure that there is a greater police presence in Alderley and perhaps could be instrumental in getting bars to close earlier.
Veronica Jackson
Tuesday 16th July 2013 at 6:31 pm
Wendy have you not read my message???????? The bench WAS NOT vandalised!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We sat down on the bench and have witnesses and it collapsed!!! You might be looking for something exciting to report but not here I have lived here for 10 years now! The bench broke thats it no vandalism!!!
Lucy Allen
Tuesday 16th July 2013 at 10:05 pm
good for you veronica for saying . It could have happend to anyone , just an accident, most people wouldnt even have contacted anyone but once again alderley edge jumping to conclusions ! And no not drunken idiots walking home just genunie people !
Alan Brough
Wednesday 17th July 2013 at 10:12 am
Just a minute - that bench was replaced in brand new condition less than twelve months ago. It's very commendable of the girls to 'fess-up that it broke when they sat on it, but benches are designed to be sat on.

As for the Police refusing to look at CCTV footage because Chris wasn't the owner - surely this is spurious because the bench was provided by the PC (I think) and therefore all taxpayers are "owners"

In any case, why should we pay for CCTV provision in the village if this is an example of it's effectiveness?
Duncan Herald
Wednesday 17th July 2013 at 10:43 am
Alan... you are right... it is a fairly new bench and so shouldn't collapse... the morons had tried several times to up-root it...the Parish Council had arranged, each time, to have the fixings (to the pavement) put right... if you saw the L-shaped metal fixings, as they were after the recent collapse,you'd have seen that they were bent...that is not caused by someone sitting on the bench I think... it is possible that the vandalism had weakened the bench such that it did collapse when someone sat on it...the bench has been removed and taken to the F. Hall where it will be properly put together again and it will then be re-installed.

As for CCTV; I checked with RBS and their CCTV is only inside.
Melanie Connor
Wednesday 17th July 2013 at 10:53 am
Well, the fact that there is no CCTV at the cash point of RBS must be very reassuring to users!!
Thanks to Ashley and Nigel from the Festival Hall who will once again fix, refit and wait for the next morons.
I'm still waiting as are the PC for the footage on the village CCTV.
I'm also convinced the police have a very good idea who they may be.
We wait.....,,,
David Hadfield
Wednesday 17th July 2013 at 11:27 am
Clearly, this looks as though the bench broke accidentally and was not damaged by morons, so apologies to the people who were totally innocent.
It's not a question of "Alderley Edge jumping to conclusions once again" but, after the initial report, it looked like sheer vandalism once again, especially as other damage is occuring in the village almost every week these days.
However, it must have been a complete shock to the people sitting on the bench when it collapsed, especially as benches are meant to be used in that way.
Maybe the bench may have been damaged or sabotaged before these people sat down ?
Natalie Bridge
Wednesday 17th July 2013 at 11:51 am
What I find slightly disturbing is the fact that most of the people complaining that the so called 'yobs' that you thought had vandalised this bench should have some sort of violent act bestowed on them!!! So please tell me who is being the 'yob' now???
I think you should make sure you find out all the facts before you start scaring some innocent girls that sat on a bench (that was clearly not made right) and nearly hurt themselves in the process! Talking about crossbows etc is making this lovely village sound like Moss Side and you lot some sort of vigilante group. I am seriously shocked by some of the comments made on here sometimes.
Claire MacLeod
Wednesday 17th July 2013 at 5:29 pm
Natalie makes a fair point. I commend her and Veronica for setting us straight on what happened. If the bench is less than a year old, I would question the quality of its materials and construction. As previous posters have remarked, a bench that new really shouldn't collapse under the weight of two young girls. If it is now being patched up at the Festival Hall, can we be absolutely confident something similar won't happen again? I guess there would potentially be a case for a 'trip and fall' lawyer to get his or her teeth into... and then who would foot the bill for the Parish Council's defence? I'm reluctant to open a can of worms, but think the point is perhaps worth making. It's a risky strategy to blame 'yobs' who may have weakened it before the incident.
Ricky Lee
Thursday 18th July 2013 at 12:31 am
Fair point we shouldn't jump into conclusion before looking into the fact. But from the damage, no one would dream of two young ladies could have done it simply by sitting on the bench.

To put in context, my son is 7 years old, his crossbow comes with rubber suckers. My comment was a direct reply to Duncan, whom knew the age of my son.
Duncan Herald
Thursday 18th July 2013 at 6:31 pm
The bench was bought by the Parish Council... we chose one that was sturdy, not a 'cheapo' one... there had been several efforts before this latest one, by vandals and/or would-be thieves... I remain convinced that the hard-wearing bench we chose simply would not collapse when someone sat upon it, unless it had been 'attacked' earlier... whatever, the bench is now back in place... fingers crossed!

As to Natalie's point; I am of the 'old school' who believe that crime should merit punishment! You may disagree with me. Yobs knock over rubbish bins in the area & uproot flowers both in the village and in the park & vomit on the streets... an hour in the village stocks?
'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you' ?
Lisa Reeves
Sunday 21st July 2013 at 10:53 am
I have received confirmation from the police today that the bench was indeed vandalised and two lads visited a local councillor to admit this.

They said they were drunk at the time and they are willing to pay for the damage.

The police have also confirmed that the two lads were not known to them and that this was an isolated incident unconnected with the theft of plants from Alderley Edge Park.
Duncan Herald
Monday 22nd July 2013 at 7:08 am
Two lads owned up; good for them...I'll be getting back my faith in human nature next!
Which Councillor Lisa; give us a chance to say well done?
Lisa Reeves
Monday 22nd July 2013 at 8:31 am
Morning Duncan, the two lads visited Cllr Mary Maczkowiak to admit they had vandalised the bench.
Duncan Herald
Sunday 28th July 2013 at 12:56 pm
Anyone know what may have happened to the two lads? Cash to pay for costs? Pay-back labour e.g. sweeping the village street or cutting back the triffids taking over the pavement opposite Heyes Lane? Or was it really society's fault?