THE destruction and burning of a hand-woven fence at Ruislip Lido last week has reignited debate over how the park is monitored.In the early hours of Wednesday (May 18), a wooden fence painstakingly woven together by lido volunteers two years ago was torn down and used to build a large bonfire on the beach.

By the time the vandalism was discovered, there was no sign of the culprits. A mass of feathers found nearby led to speculation that a wild bird could have been cooked on the fire.

Friends of Ruislip Lido chairman Vicky Brownlee said: "It is very sad. Whoever has done it has taken time to destroy the woven fence and dig out a pit to build the fire.

"I don't know if having a lido ranger would have made a difference but not having anyone patrol there up to 10pm has given these people the chance to do this."

Hillingdon Council reduced the number of staff employed to patrol its parks earlier this year. They removed the full-time lido ranger and now operate a rotation system for monitoring the site using their green spaces team.

Jean Palmer, corporate director of environment and planning, said: "The council's green spaces team have cleaned up the debris and will be fixing the fence this week.

"Park officers are on patrol throughout the day and, as has always been the case, the council operates an out-of-hours service for any concerned residents to call and report a problem regarding our parks."

But Ms Brownlee said the loss of a full-time staff member at the lido has hampered the council's ability to deal with acts of vandalism.

"If it happened in the early hours there isn't much you can do," she said. "But it might have helped."

Both the police and the fire brigade attended the fire, which was still smouldering at 7am. A bottle of tomato ketchup was found nearby.

Incidents occurring outside normal working hours should be reported to the council on 01895 250 380.