| Coastguard sector officer Darryl White said he was “totally devastated” to hear one of the Coastwise information signs erected at the Ness had been knocked off its supporting posts.
The striking new signs were funded by a number of organisations and have been dotted along the cliffs, from Victoria Park as far as Auchmithie.
Mr White inaugurated the project and it was progressed with the added efforts of the Arbroath and Area Partnership.
An angry Mr White said today, “We have had quite a few incidents, two potentially lethal, in that area recently and for some mindless dolts to come along and vandalise the very signs that could prevent that sort of thing beggars belief.
“I knew it would happen because that’s the society we have, but it’s so sad when it does and it just takes your breath away.
“My mind goes back to the young lady who died tragically two years ago, and it is that sort of incident we are trying to prevent.
“A lot of people have spent a lot of time getting these signs done and some mindless idiot comes along and vandalises them. What sort of a society have we got?”
“It’s taken two and a half years to get these signs and someone comes along and ruins it in about half an hour.”
Asked whether he felt the signs should be checked regularly, Mr White added, “Why should we need to police, or even think about, policing a safety sign?
“We shouldn’t even be thinking about that, we should be putting them up and expecting the community to allow it to survive because it has a purpose.”
And he said he would like to be able to confront the vandals who removed the signs.
“I don’t want to bang their heads together — I would like to talk to them and see if they can explain to me why they did it.”
Harry Simpson, chair of the safety panel of the Arbroath and Area Partnership, also reacted with shock at the news. “I’m really stunned — it’s sickening that anybody could do that,” he said.
“The local people are trying to do something for the town and look what happens.”
Three local men who were walking along the cliff path this morning said it was “an absolute disgrace”.
“The kids today are mental,” said one man. It’s a shame that you just can’t leave anything — it’s a sign of the times I’m afraid,” added another.
Lorraine and Kevin Barthorpe, whose daughter Nicole died after slipping from the cliffs in September 2003, have been instrumental in campaigning for safety features along the clifftop.
Commenting on the vandalism of the safety signs, Lorraine said, “Unfortunately that’s the culture we live in nowadays and there is not really a great deal I can say on it.
“It’s ridiculous that they have done it, but how can we stop them?”
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