LOVERS of a local park woke up this morning (Friday) to find it had been turned into a foul smelling tip over night by vandals. Bags of dog excrement had been scattered around Hampson Park in Stevenage and one bench seat had been smothered in the mess. Af

LOVERS of a local park woke up this morning (Friday) to find it had been turned into a foul smelling tip over night by vandals.

Bags of dog excrement had been scattered around Hampson Park in Stevenage and one bench seat had been smothered in the mess.

After complaints from nearby residents Stevenage Borough Council sent a team down there to clean up the mess and power wash the bench. Empty beer cans and spirit bottles were also removed.

"The smell was awful. It turned my stomach over," said Elsie Williams, 80, who walks her dog in the park every morning.

"I just can't begin to imagine how the minds of the young people who get up to the park at night work. They smeared excrement all over the seat and emptied bags of the stuff around the park."

Another resident said: "These late night litter louts are a nuisance. But what they did last night was disgusting."

A council worker at the park said: "This just shows the mentality of some of the kids that get up here at night.