A Sheffield Quays café has set up a GoFundMe to raise money after park benches were smashed into pieces.
The seating area belonging to Victoria Junction was left unusable after the incident, which took place on Friday 7 March around 7:30pm
Café owner Jonathan Lawson, who organised fundraiser, said: “We’ve never had anything like this happen before, it’s a blow to everyone who uses them.”
The outdoor seating was used by many businesses surrounding the canal area, visitors to hotels nearby and even local charities.
South Yorkshire Police were called about the vandalism, but Mr Lawson was said he was told that CCTV footage showing the attack was too blurry to make out who caused the damage.
Mr Lawson said: “All the benches were smashed on top of peoples boats; parts were thrown into the canal and the charity boat had it’s window smashed through.”
Victoria Junction has been running for more than 11 years and the seating was being used before they even set up their business.
All the surrounding organisations all chipped in to try maintain the open area as it was a vital part to the locals and visitors when walking by the canal.
He said: “It’s a bit of a shame really, we always tried to maintain the area, we hope to get some form of outdoor seating back outside.”
They are hoping to raise £1,100 to make up for damage caused and restore the area to its former condition.
Mr Lawson said: “we are a small family business and can’t afford to replace it on our own.”
Currently they have gained £55 in donations, they are aspiring to afford more seating than originally was there.
The Victoria Quays is known for hosting a variety of events by the canal.
The Quayside Market is coming up in April, due to the lack of seating and places for locals to rest it could affect the independent businesses that use this time of year to promote their organisations.
If you would like to donate funds to help restore the damaged property you can follow this link to find out more.
ShefLive approached South Yorkshire Police for comment.
