Bude Police and the town's Harbour Master have expressed their concerned after life buoys were removed from their housing and thrown into both Bude Canal and the River Neet.

The equipment was thrown onto the thin ice of the frozen water, out of reach of anyone on the banks. Police said these actions put at risk those carrying out the vandalism as well as those who would have to recover the items from the frozen water. Greater obvious risk was posed to anyone requiring the use of the emergency equipment.

PC Dave Monkton Neighbourhood Beat Manager for Bude Town Centre said: "This places many people in danger and will not be tolerated by our community. I would urge anyone either involved in this activity, or with knowledge of who is responsible to consider the possible implications of these actions and the fact that they could contribute to someone's death.

"People using the area expect a level of safety in our town and the irresponsible behaviour of these individuals must be stopped. This type of antisocial behaviour is totally unacceptable. It is also currently a local priority for the Bude Town area, as decided by the local community and we will be making efforts to identify the offenders."

'COSTLY'

Gareth Cann, Bude Area Ranger said: "We have recently undertaken a review of public rescue equipment along the canal and we are replacing the old with new updated equipment. However, we are continually finding that the rescue equipment is being tampered with. This takes up staff time and is costly to replace.

"As a last resort, we may have to review the situation and remove the equipment permanently. Recently there has been a lot of vandalism in the local Nature Reserve and around the canal, this is unfortunate since both are unique amenities for the public to enjoy."

As the cold weather continues, police are also advising everyone to exercise extreme care, and stay off any frozen water. Ice can be dangerously thin and tragic consequences must be avoided.

PC Monkton is urging anyone who uses the towpaths to be extra vigilant and report any suspicious or dangerous activity as soon as possible. Anyone with information should contact Bude Police on 01288 357502 or [email protected]">[email protected]. Alterna­tive­ly, confidential information can be passed to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111.