A TOWN councillor condemned vandals who damaged a popular Canvey tidal pool weeks after work was carried out on it.

Improvements were made to the pool at Concord Beach, off Eastern Esplanade, to clean and remove hazardous materials from the base, repair handrails and re-mastic all the joints.

Just two weeks later, Canvey Town Council’s community warden Jess Fisher discovered some of the joints had been removed and others damaged, forcing the authority to put up signs warning of the dangers.

A town council report said: “The contractor inspected the site and believes the sealant had been vandalised. They claim that the sealant appears to have been pushed into the slabs by some type of object and some cut with a knife. There were nine joints that had been removed and three that were damaged.”

The council has already spent £5,250 on maintenance of the site so far this year. Now it is having to fork out £876 to repair the damaged joints.

However, councillor John Anderson, chairman of the environment and open spaces committee, said the council would not be defeated by the irresponsible actions of a few.

Mr Anderson said: “These areas are set aside for the public, whether residents or visitors, to enjoy. I do not know what goes through the minds of the people who do this and I know all the town councillors are angry.

“But we will not be defeated by these vandals who chose to try and ruin it for the majority. While it is frustrating we have to spend more fixing this damage, we will continue to maintain the pool for people to enjoy.

“We need more partnership working and volunteers who when they see these things going on, report them to the town council or the police.”

The environment and open spaces committee will discuss the issue at a meeting from 7.30pm on Monday at the Paddocks Community Centre, in Long Road, Canvey.