BIRKENHEAD Park's iconic Swiss Bridge has been "devastated" after heartless vandals set it on fire.
More than £20,000 of damage has been caused to the Grade II listed structure.
Police were called to the park at 8.30am on Sunday after a member of the public discovered the wooden bridge - built when the park first opened in 1847 - had been seriously damaged by flames.
The bridge will now require significant structural reconstruction before it can be used again.
When they got the grant to do the park up they said they were going to spend quite a bit on security, there is a camera covering that area, a fire would stand out like a sore thumb on night vision.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn