"Mindless" vandals have been condemned by Gateshead Council after swings were damaged in three of the borough's parks.
This came after a concerned local man took to social media to reveal that louts had been using bolt cutters to cut through swing chains.
He wrote: "Someone is going around with a pair of bolt cutters cutting the swing chains off.
"With all the cutbacks in the council the parks and play areas are not being funded like they used to be so damaged play equipment is not getting replaced.
"If anyone knows who is doing the vandalism will you please have a quiet word with them, they will want their own children to play in the parks in a few years time and probably complain when there is nowt for the bairns to play on."
A spokesperson for the council confirmed there had been damage to swings in Sundew Park, Beacon Lough, Mossheaps Park, Wrekenton, and Windy Fields Park, Winlaton.
"There have been a small number of instances that we're aware of where the swings have been damaged," she said.
"It's extremely disappointing that the public's enjoyment of the parks is affected by these acts of mindless vandalism. The public's safety is always of our utmost concern and the play parks are regularly checked during routine maintenance inspections."
Police have warned vandals that they will be arrested, and have vowed to use legal powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour.
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "What I would say is that the vast majority of young people in Gateshead are a credit to their community and it is only a small minority of troublemakers that are responsible.
"Those individuals may think that this type of mindless vandalism is nothing but it has a huge impact on those who live in the area. A lot of families and young children use these parks and when they are damaged it has a big impact on their lives.
"Our message to those responsible is that you are committing criminal offences and if identified you will be arrested.
"We have been targeting areas where incidents have been reported and we are using dispersal orders to move on large groups of teenagers.
"It is important we work with our partners to help prevent these incidents from taking place and we regularly meet with the council to review incidents across the borough. By working together with partners we can make our local communities a safer place to live for everyone but you can help us do that by reporting incidents to police."
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