AN Art installation at the former Mangotsfield station has been destroyed in an arson attack.
The wooden framework was the centrepiece of the Mangotsfield Folly project, funded by Arts Council England and Emersons Green Town Council, working with transport charity Sustrans, which oversees the Bristol & Bath Railway Path.
A mural was painted on the inside of the folly by artists Lucas Antics in June last year, to mark the launch of the project – but by that stage it had already been vandalised once.
Events have been held at the folly in the months since, most recently a dance performance called Blackened Diamond, inspired by Mangotsfield’s coal mining past, in late March.
The structure was wrecked overnight between April 21 and 22 when a moped was burnt out inside it, leaving it in a dangerous condition.
A resident of the nearby Siston Hill estate, who took pictures of the damage, said: “It’s a shame but not surprising to the many that regularly visit the station that this has happened. It’s baffling to understand the logic as to why the culprits have destroyed a shelter probably frequented by themselves to smoke weed and have a drink!”
Project manager Suzanne Heath said no further exhibitions or performances had been planned at the site.
She said: “We had discussed the possibility of doing a final goodbye event but I feel the fire has put the kibosh on that.”
Anyone with information about the fire should call police on 101.