Disgust at bus shelter vandals

ANGRY . . . Councillor Aqeel Salamat at the vandalised bus shelter

VANDALS smashed up a bus shelter only a week after it was built.

The shelter in Glodwick Road was installed after a campaign by residents and St Mary’s councillor Aqeel Salamat.

An angry Mr Salamat: “I am disgusted. I have been driving along this busy stretch of road for 15 years, and myself and the community campaigned long and hard to get the much-needed shelter. It was fine on Saturday, but on Sunday it was left trashed.

“It was only installed a week ago.

“At the end of the day, it is the local people that are going to lose out because they were the ones who used it.”

He is now offering a reward of £100 to bring the vandals to justice.

A GMPTE spokesperson, who said the shelter would be repaired by today, said: “Vandalism of this kind is very frustrating.

“We work hard to keep our shelters in good condition as a vandalised shelter can give a poor impression of a local area.

“I urge local people to help us tackle vandalism like this by reporting any damage to GMPTE as soon as possible.

“I would also like to remind people that we have CCTV in a number of shelters in Oldham that can be moved to hotspot areas as needed. Any evidence of criminal damage is always passed to the police.”

People can report vandalised shelters to GMPTE by calling 0161-244 1720 or sending am e-mail to bus stop@gmpte.gov.uk with the shelter number on the stop’s sign.