Hunter's Chase playground in South Godstone has been targeted by vandals three times in the last week, who have emptied the dog bin and smeared the contents all over the children's playground and surrounding fencing.
Tandridge District Council is appealing for witnesses and information about the people doing this. Apart from stopping children using the play area while it is being cleaned, they are putting children, their parents or guardians and themselves at risk of disease from Toxocara canis, a common parasite found in dog faeces that can cause asthma, epilepsy and blindness.
Toddlers playing in parks are especially vulnerable as it is caught by swallowing soil contaminated with the Toxocara eggs, spread through infected dog faeces. While Toxocara infections are rare and are more likely to affect children because of their play habits, adults can become ill too.
The incidents happened on Wednesday 2 July, Thursday 3 July and Sunday 6 July. As the play area is overlooked by houses and a school, it is believed the play area is being targeted at night. If anyone has information about the people carrying this out, they should contact Surrey Police on 101 quoting crime reference P14195779.
