VANDALS have damaged a row of trees in Blackbird Leys Park that will cost a total of £1,200 to replace.

Four silver birches, planted in early May as part of landscaping for the Leys Pools and Leisure Centre, have been partially or completely destroyed.

They are now set to be replaced, costing £300 each.

The trees are located slightly away from the main site off Pegasus Road, near Evenlode tower. One has been completely pulled from the ground – leaving only its protective tube still standing – and another bent over so that the bark at the base of the trunk was damaged.

Oxford City Council was made aware of the vandalism on the weekend of May 23.

Councillor Mike Rowley, board member for leisure, parks and sports, said: “This is a needless waste of taxpayers’ money.

“With the financial pressure the council is under, we do not need these kind of additional costs and, frankly, the person who committed the vandalism should be ashamed.”

It is unlikely the trees will be replaced until next year, as the planting season is over.

Blackbird Leys parish council has also been made aware of the damage. Chairman Gordon Roper said the incident was “disappointing”, adding: “We were trying to keep it looking nice.”

This is not the first time young trees in Oxford have been targeted. In 2008, four golden ash saplings costing £180 each were destroyed in Hollow Way Recreation Ground, Cowley.

A further eight were snapped in half the following year and the city council said there was no more money in the budget to replace them.

In 2011, four apple trees planted by schoolchildren at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Headington, were broken in half just as they were beginning to blossom.

Thames Valley Police has been notified of the incident in Blackbird Leys Park. No-one at the force was available for comment, but a city council spokesman said: “Police are fully on board and we have been told they are treating this as criminal damage, and that they will be increasing patrols in the area to reassure members of the public.”

Steve Lee, divisional marketing manager at Fusion Lifestyle, which operates Oxford’s leisure centres on behalf of the city council, said the trees were not among those planted at the front of the building.

He added: “It does not adversely affect us, and we would hope this is an isolated incident.”