Worthing: Newly installed food dispenser at park targeted in suspected arson

Worthing Borough Council said last week that visitors to Brooklands Park could now feed wildfowl responsibly – while also benefiting the popular park in the long run – thanks to the introduction of a new solar-powered dispenser.

For a £1 contactless payment, the machine was built to dispense a handful of feed ‘that’s safe for the birds and our precious lake’.

Within just days of being installed, the dispenser has seemingly been set alight by arsonists – and has been ‘completely wrecked’.

A spokesperson for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service said on Tuesday (March 11): “This morning at 6.12am we were called to a fire in Brooklands Pleasure Park, Worthing.

“Joint Fire Control mobilised two fire engines to the scene. Upon arrival crews found a duck feeder on fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire using a jet.

“The crews left the scene at 7am. We believe the fire was started deliberately."

Worthing Borough Council said it is believed that the damage took place overnight, adding: “We can't say for sure until we receive a damage report, but we believe it was most likely an arson attack.”

A spokesperson told Sussex World: “We’re really disappointed that the new duck feed dispenser, installed by the lake at Brooklands Park only four days ago, has been destroyed.

"This morning our parks team arrived at Brooklands to find that the new machine has been completely wrecked by fire.

"The dispenser was installed last Friday after we teamed up with The Feed Ducks Initiative to help ensure the park’s wildfowl is fed responsibly and make the lake cleaner for wildlife.”

The council said it is ‘very grateful’ that the initiative has ‘kindly offered to replace the destroyed dispenser’.

The council said the dispenser, which was made from recycled plastics’, aimed to ‘reduce bread feeding’, which is ‘harmful for ducks and swans and also pollutes the lake’.

The council had teamed up with The Feed Ducks Initiative to install the feed dispenser next to the old boating dock beside the park’s lake – ‘where we know visitors of all ages love to get a great view of the birds and treat them to some food’.

The new machine was installed at ‘no cost’ to the council, which arranged for the initiative to donate ten per cent of its proceeds to the Friends of Brooklands Park. It was hoped the volunteers would be able use the funds to ‘help make Brooklands Park a better place to visit’.

The Friends of Brooklands Park posted photos of the damage on social media, alongside seven angry emojis, commenting: “The new duck feeder… only installed on Friday!!!”

Sussex Police confirmed it has received a report of a fire in Brooklands Park. Anyone with information can report it to via 101, or online, quoting serial 205 of 11/03.