Now the company footing the bill, the Glasgow-based Scottish Greenbelt Company, has told the Tele that all options are being considered.

“We manage 500 sites from Plymouth to Inverness, and I can’t think of any other that has had such sustained damage,” said spokesman Kevin Wilkinson today.

“The challenge here is that, as soon as we fix it, it is vandalised again. The viability of it is one of the things we have got to consider.

“Somehow we need to engage with local people, and the local councillor as well, and see if it is really worth having this play park here.”

Last week the park was branded a danger to children because of the actions of “silly-minded” gangs of bike-riding vandals.

Pieces of wood have been ripped from equipment at the park, leaving jagged edges and bare rusty screws. There have also been incidents of fire-raising, one of which was so serious a burned-out tyre swing has had to be removed.

The local councillor said it was suspected that gangs of BMX bikers from outside the area were responsible for the most recent attacks.

However, there have been a string of incidents at the park since it opened, some blamed on local youths. It had to close temporarily three years ago because of damage.

Mr Wilkinson acknowledged that the park was seen by some as a “real asset for young people,” and that its closure could be seen as conceding defeat to the vandals.

“Somehow we are going to have to square this circle, but we don’t have a workable long-term solution at the moment, just because of the amount of anti-social behaviour that is going on,” he said.

“Sometimes we can repair a place once or twice, and the kids that have been doing it grow up and move on, but here it is just going on and on.

“At the end of the day the question is — who is going to pay for this? We have spent tens of thousands of pounds on repairs there.

“But it can’t just be us deciding to close it, we will have to work with residents living around the area as to what is the best solution.”

Consultation on the future of the park may be some way off, however, with the company still trying to “get their thoughts together.”

Mr Wilkinson concluded, “What we have found when we have gone into consultation in other areas is that you need to have a clear idea of the options that are available first.

“That is quite tricky here because of the amount of money involved. It isn’t straightforward.”

Temporary repairs to make safe play equipment following the most recent damage have been instructed and are expected to get under way “fairly soon”.

The park was provided by Bett Homes as one of the planning conditions for the Balgillo Park development, and responsibility for its management passed to the Scottish Greenbelt Company.