Vandals saw through children's treehouse in Aberdeenshire country park

Vandals have taken a saw to a children’s treehouse in a country park in Aberdeenshire.

Aden Country Park in Mintlaw took to social media to share images of the damage caused to the treehouse on Thursday evening.

The supports and stairs for the wooden treehouse have been sawn through, putting the attraction “completely out of commission” for young visitors.

The area around the treehouse has been cordoned off, and the incident has been reported to police.

Park officials are assessing the damage and determining whether it is feasible or cost-effective to replace the structure.

The country park, which spans 230 acres, has a cafe, camping site, gift shop and a children’s play area.

Aden Country Park wrote on Facebook: “We were absolutely appalled to discover someone had sawn through the main wooden supports and stairway to the Aden Country Park treehouse on Thursday night.

“This disgusting vandalism has put the treehouse completely out of commission for our younger visitors, but more worryingly, it could have seriously injured anyone climbing up who was unaware of the full dangers.

“The area has been cordoned off in the meantime and our landscape services colleagues will investigate the full scale of the damage and whether it’s feasible or indeed cost-effective to replace the structure.

“We know just how popular the treehouse has been with children over many years, but we are very fortunate that we do have a wealth of other exciting attractions to keep youngsters entertained when visiting Aden.

“Police Scotland have been notified of the vandalism, and we would encourage anyone with information or potentially with CCTV footage from the surrounding communities to please get in touch with them as soon as possible.”