Moira Furnace & Country Park officials have urged local residents to call the police as soon as they see any vandalism or anti-social behaviour in the area.

The visitor attraction has been hit by two separate incidents last night (Wednesday) - one of which is being linked to an alleged theft and attempted break-in at Jungle Madness in Donisthorpe.

A post on Moira Furnace's Facebook page revealed a group of seven youngsters had been causing anti-social behaviour in the area.

This was followed by four anglers sawing up a fence belonging to the Park to make a fire - they have since been banned from the canal area.

Bottles were left strewn on the ground by a group of youth. All recent photos used with permission of Moira Furnace & Country Park

A Moira Furnace spokesman told Ashby Nub News that the police did not attend the first incident, while the damage caused to the fence was not reported until today.

Officials now believe the more incidents that are reported to Leicestershire Police, the more likely it is to be treated as a 'hotspot'.

Furnace officials feel that the Jungle Madness incident may not have happened had the first instance of anti-social behaviour been dealt with by police.

However, officers did attend within 20 minutes following the attempted break-in in at the Donisthorpe attraction shortly after 3am.

The Furnace post reads: "Last night (Wednesday) around 7pm, we had reports of six boys and a girl in their early teens, hanging around the containers, climbing on them, and throwing logs about.

"When asked to leave they became aggressive and abusive.

"They later returned with alcohol and cigarettes and proceeded to make a fire on the dry bark-chipping path.

"They were clearly not over 18 years old. This incident was reported to the police, who chose not to attend this time.

"This has meant we have had to clean up this morning and repair the path that the local Explorer Scout group worked so hard to create to improve access to the engine parts and coal miner's cage."

The post adds: "Alongside this, some overnight anglers have decided to cut our fence with saws they brought, to make a fire.

"This was witnessed by a resident who decided not to call the police. This is criminal damage and if you witness this, please do not wait until the next morning, call the police immediately.

"The anglers have been dealt with and four have been banned from fishing on the canal. They give our anglers a bad name and are not welcome here.

"With these incidents increasing now, we would like to ask all our wonderful community to stay vigilant and, if you see anything, please report it both to us, but, more importantly, to the police on their 101 service.

"The more reports they get the hotter the site becomes and the more work they put in to look after us. That's how it works, so we need everyone to help out."

Jungle Madness has posted CCTV photos of the youngsters caught on their premises last night.

Their online post refers to photos of discarded bottles at Moira Furnace and reads: "These are our stock that was stolen from our cocktail bar,  we have clear CCTV pictures of the young lad leaving our building with them."

Jungle Madness added: "Yesterday at 20:14, two youths broke into the cocktail bar stealing bottles of spirits and then attempted to break in with three others at 3:02 this morning.

"Luckily due to our alarm system we were on site within 10 minutes followed by police attendance within 20 minutes of being called.

The overnight anglers sawed through a fence for wood to make a fire

"Thanks to the fast response, we were able to enter the building safely. After scrolling through CCTV it would appear they got scared after activating the alarm and left the area (heading towards the canal) at 3.08.

"They arrived onsite at 2:28 and sat drinking until the attempted break-in."

Leicestershire Police told Ashby Nub News: "A report of a burglary at a business in Church Street, Donisthorpe, was received at 3.10am today (Thursday 13 July).

"It was also reported that alcohol had been stolen from inside the premises the night before.

"An investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to contact police, quoting reference 23*431303."