FLOOD damage from recent storms has forced the closure of Bovey Tracey’s Mill Marsh play park.

The town council confirmed the play area has had to be closed due to damage from the recent torrential rainfall and safety inspections are to take place next week.

Council contractors have installed locked fencing around the play park.

Residents have been warned not the enter the affected area even as the floodwater begins to subside but warning signs are being ignored.

The town council said: ‘Contractors will conduct a safety inspection next week and advise on necessary repairs.

‘Please do not use any of the equipment as its safety cannot be guaranteed.

‘There are also trip hazards and existing damage could be made worse. We’ll get it fixed as soon as possible. Please spread the word as we know people travel just to use the park.’

The council added that the rubberised flooring in the play park has been damaged and fencing broken.

However, people have been ignoring the warnings and entering the closed areas of the park.

The council said security tape had been ‘ripped down’ and that people were accessing the area despite warnings.

A spokesman explained: ‘The security tape has now been ripped down and people are entering the park via this entrance.

‘We can only advise you, please stop walking on the spring bulbs that are now coming up.

‘Do not use this entrance to Mill Marsh Park where flooding has damaged fences around the play park.

‘Unattended children [have been] seen playing in the water.’

Local residents have also shared concerns about repeated flood damage at the site.

One said: ‘Back in the day it didn’t get damaged because there was no equipment in there that water could harm, but these days mats and other equipment are getting ripped apart.’