Equipment at children's playground being fitted with new facilities have been deliberately set alight.
Fire fighters were called to the playground in Pen y Dre, Neath, shortly after 8pm on Wednesday evening.
Local resident Jade Roderick said: "I saw the fire brigade in the street running down the lane towards the park, and went to my bedroom window and could immediately see the flames and smell the smoke.
"The park has trees and bushes and there are houses all around it in close proximity so it is lucky that the firemen got there so quickly before any more damage was done.
"There have also been workmen renovating the park over the last couple of weeks and it’s such a shame that someone felt the need to ruin the park for the little ones in the local area, including my son.
"The park attracts a lot of anti social behaviour lately and it’s such a shame as this is a nice area to live in apart from that".
Ward councillor Alan Lockyer added: "We've had a small amount of money which was being used to install some new equipment in the park, but fortunately it was only some of the older equipment that was set alight.
"It is a shame youngsters seem to have got in there and got up to all sorts. The residents round there are pretty vigilant, and there is talk about setting up a neighbourhood watch scheme".
A Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the fire had been started deliberately.
He added: "On Wednesday, September 22, at 7.45pm, firefighters from Morriston attended a fire at a playground in Pen y Dre, Neath.
"The fire had been lit deliberately and affected the playground equipment.
"Firefighters extinguished the fire using a hose reel jet and left the incident at 8.04pm.
"The incident has been reported to South Wales Police".
South Wales Police said the incident has been reported to them, but no officers needed to attend.
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