EFFORTS to brighten up the centre of Ipswich have been ruined by senseless vandals. More than 45 floral planters were placed around the town centre by Ipswich Central but the company that maintains the area have been forced to clear up the mess left by damage caused to three of them.

EFFORTS to brighten up the centre of Ipswich have been ruined by senseless vandals.

More than 45 floral planters were placed around the town centre by Ipswich Central but the company that maintains the area have been forced to clear up the mess left by damage caused to three of them.

Ipswich Central were, until now, overwhelmed by the positive response to the colourful displays installed in 2007 and decided to repeat the idea again this year.

Paul Clement from Ipswich Central, said: “It is a great pleasure to brighten up the town centre again by arranging these attractive floral displays throughout the town. We had very positive feedback last summer and this is one of the many additional services that we provide to improve the way the town centre looks and feels.”

The new planters were installed last week but have already been vandalised on three separate occasions.

Mr Clements issued a warning to whoever is responsible for the damage.

He said: “We are working closely with CCTV to monitor the planters and anybody caught tampering with them will be prosecuted. This is a case of a minority spoiling it for the majority and the minority will be shown zero tolerance by us.”

The planters are part of Ipswich Central's mission to improve the appearance of the town centre by working closely with business owners in the area.

Neil Roberts, Debenhams Store Manager hopes the displays will be safe from vandalism in the future.

He said: “It is excellent to see the return of the planters. They give the area a real lift and hopefully they will last as long as last year's display.”