Vandals who smashed a glass panel on Derry’s Peace Bridge have been condemned.
One of the bridge’s protective glass panels overlooking the Waterside Railway Station was smashed in the early hours of Monday morning last.
It is the latest incident of vandalism on the bridge since it opened on 25 June, 2011.
Paul Doherty, of urban regeneration company Ilex, said they were “extremely disappointed” the bridge had been vandalised “once again.”
He added: “While the reinforced glass panels are shatter resistant, they are not designed to withstand deliberate physical force.
“The Peace Bridge will soon celebrate its third birthday and in that short space of time, it has become a key part of city life.
“We urge all users of the Peace Bridge to respect it as a shared public space and to ensure pedestrians and cyclists can enjoy it”.
The 771 foot long bridge has become one of the major tourist attractions in the city since it was opened to the public by EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, First and deputy First Ministers, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness and Taoiseach Enda Kenny
The bridge is intended to improve relations between the largely unionist Waterside with the largely nationalist cityside, by improving access between these areas, as part of wider regeneration plans. The bridge also provides a crossing over the railway line approaching Waterside station.
The bridge was funded jointly by the Department for Social Development (NI), the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government along with matching funding, totalling £14 million, from the SEUPB Peace III programme.
It was designed by Wilkinson Eyre, who also designed the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.
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