An elderly couple running an owl sanctuary for the rehabilitation of injured birds have had their business 'destroyed' by child vandals.
Malcom Jones, 86, and his partner Patricia Webb, 82, were left distraught after the toilet facility at their much-loved sanctuary in Ebbw Vale, south Wales, was left 'totally destroyed' and 'beyond repair' following several instances of vandalism.
Images have shown the devastating extent of destruction to the toilet block, with walls torn down, smashed sinks and flooded floors.
Based in Festival Park, the Owl Sanctuary was first opened in 1998 by the bird-loving couple who sought to provide 'the rehabilitation and care for the injured, abandoned uncared for wild owls, hawks and falcons' until they were able to be released back into the wild.
Now, given that the destruction has resulted in there being no available toilet facility on site, Mr Jones has been unable to return to the sanctuary to care for the animals.
Alongside damage to the toilets, vandals have also damaged the doors, walls and windows at different parts of the Festival Park site.
Mr Jones' partner, Ms Webb, told WalesOnline that her partner has been utterly 'devastated' by the vandalism.
Malcom Jones, 86, (pictured), and his partner Patricia Webb, 82, were left distraught after the toilet facility at their much-loved sanctuary in Ebbw Vale, south Wales, was left 'totally destroyed' and 'beyond repair' by children
Images have shown the extent of the devastating destruction to the toilet block, with walls torn down, smashed sinks and flooded floors
Alongside damage to the toilets, vandals have also damaged the doors, walls and windows at different parts of the Festival Park site
She added: 'It's his passion and he can not come to the sanctuary until we have a toilet.
'Thankfully there was no damage done to anything within the sanctuary or to any of the birds, so that was the one good thing.'
The vandalism reportedly took place over a number of days, with the youngsters even returning to the sanctuary to cause more damage at a later date.
Following the devastating rampage, Mr Jones and Ms Webb took to the social media platform Facebook to express their anger at the situation, saying: 'Hope your proud of your kids! They have come back and now totally destroyed the entire unit. This is not even repairable now.'
They have now set up a JustGiving page to help raise up to £10,000 worth of funds towards the repair effort, with £1,680 raised so far.
Several companies, including electricians and plumbers, have offered to assist with repairs, but the sanctuary have raised fears that the damage may be 'beyond repair' and they are now in desperate need of a new unit before they can consider moving forward.
Reflecting on the public fundraising efforts, Ms Webb remarked: 'We've had so much response from the general public, it has been really unbelievable. We've had lots of plumbers and electricians offering to do some work for us but we need to sort it with the people who run the Festival Park as well.'
The vandalism reportedly took place over a number of days, with the children returning to the sanctuary to cause more damage at a later date
Based in Festival Park, the Owl Sanctuary was first opened in 1998 by the bird-loving couple who sought to provide 'the rehabilitation and care for the injured, abandoned uncared for wild owls, hawks and falcons'
Inspector Rich Tovey from Gwent Police confirmed the force had received three separate reports of criminal damage at the Festival Park site in Ebbw Vale since Friday 4 April
Malcom's partner, Ms Webb, told WalesOnline that her partner has been utterly 'devastated' by the vandalism
Inspector Rich Tovey from Gwent Police told WalesOnline: 'We've had three separate reports of criminal damage at the Festival Park site in Ebbw Vale since Friday 4 April where doors and windows were smashed and toilet facilities at the Owl Sanctuary were also damaged.
'These mindless acts of vandalism negatively impact on our communities; they are completely unacceptable and we will not tolerate this type of activity.
'We are keen to hear from anyone who has information about any of these three reports to contact us and we will take action against those found to be responsible for this anti-social behaviour.'
The force advised using the reference number 2500109003 to report the smashing of doors and windows at the Festival Park site between Friday, April 4 and Monday, April 7.
The reference number 2500109870 should be used to report damage caused to walls and windows smashed on Monday, April 7 at the Festival Park site and2500111745 to report the damage of toilets at the owl sanctuary at some point between Sunday, April 6 and Wednesday, April 9.
