A GRANDMOTHER has criticised the council, saying she found a play area in an award-winning park in a “disgraceful” state.

Margaret Austen, 66, visited the children’s play park at Lydiard Park on Friday morning with two of her grandchildren.

“We found that the play park had got two main slides roped off because of damage and the roundabout has been screwed down,” she said.

The North Swindon grandmother-of-eight spoke out after discovering that Lydiard Park, which is managed by Swindon Borough Council, had recently been awarded a Green Flag Award by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

The award is given for parks that are “beautifully maintained” and boast “excellent visitor facilities”.

Margaret said: “It’s scandalous that the park is in that state. This is the beginning of the school holidays.

“It is absolutely ridiculous – especially as they’re charging for parking.”

The grandmother said that her young charges had been left “disappointed” by the park – with the youngsters asking to visit Jolly Rogers indoor play area on Greenbridge Road instead.

Swindon Borough Council sought to reassure parents that the damaged play park equipment was being fixed as quickly as possible.

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “The play park at Lydiard is the most well-used outdoor facility of its kind in Swindon. Three quarters of a million people visit Lydiard each year and the vast majority of children who make up that number will use the play park.

“As such the equipment, which is regularly inspected, gets worn out and when that happens we have to ensure it is clearly marked as being out of use. The high-quality play equipment in the children’s play park means we have to order new parts from abroad and so we cannot repair it quickly.

“The replacement parts have been ordered and we will have things back to normal very soon. We would like to reassure parents that the play park is open and available for children to enjoy as normal.”

On Tripadvisor, parents praised the park. One user, ozztec123, said: “My children and I love visiting Lydiard Park, with the many different woodland walks, beautifully kept grounds [and a] really great playground for the children.” Dan Horr called the park a “family favourite” and a “perfect play park”.