Shocked mothers force their tearaway teenage sons to volunteer at miniature village after vandalism
Model parenting: Shocked mothers force their tearaway teenage sons to volunteer at miniature village attraction after recognising them vandalising it on CCTV and shopping them to the owner
- Teenage trio caught red-handed on CCTV trespassing at model village in Hants
- Footage from Southsea Model Village was spotted by parents on social media
- Their furious mothers marched them down to the site and volunteered them
- The incident came after another teen group vandalised the site just days earlier
The mothers of three teenage tearaways who vandalised a miniature village have handed out a lesson in model parenting by forcing their children to do voluntary work at the tourist attraction.
The teenagers were caught red-handed on CCTV as they ran rampant around the popular Southsea Model Village in Hampshire last weekend.
But they were quickly cut back down to size by their parents, who recognised them from the CCTV footage after it was circulated on social media.
Their furious parents then marched them down to the 65-year-old attraction to apologise to its owner and for them to offer to volunteer at the site.
Owner Mark Wilson said: ‘We had three of the young lads came down to do some voluntary work and the police have spoken to them.
‘They were a group of young lads – 13 or 14 years old – who broke in the second time.
The trio were seen entering days after a group containing three boys and a girl were seen seen tossing around figurines, smashing tiny windows and ripping up train tracks in a King Kong-style wrecking spree at the miniature village
The mothers of three teenage tearaways who vandalised a miniature village have handed out a lesson in model parenting by forcing their children to do voluntary work at the tourist attraction
The teenagers were caught red-handed on CCTV as they ran rampant around the popular Southsea Model Village in Hampshire last weekend
‘Their mums brought them down during the week.
‘They were so embarrassed about what had happened. They said they opened Facebook and saw their sons’ pictures plastered all over it from the break-in.
‘They were mortified that they had to bring their sons down.’
The teenagers said they trespassed out of ‘boredom’, according to Mr Wilson, who put them to work on Sunday.
The 47-year-old, who has run the attraction for more than five years, said: ‘They have been sweeping up the paths and carrying out some basic labouring tasks.
‘The police also attended the village to speak to the teenagers.’
The trio’s trespassing came just days after another more damaging incident of vandalism at the attraction.
The teenagers said they trespassed out of ‘boredom’, according to Mr Wilson, who put them to work on Sunday
Mr Wilson said the first incident of vandalism cost the business more than £500 in broken figurines and £1,200 in ruined model railway tracks
A group consisting of three boys and a girl were seen seen tossing around figurines, smashing tiny windows and ripping up train tracks in a King Kong-style wrecking spree at the miniature village.
Mr Wilson said this cost the business more than £500 in broken figurines and £1,200 in ruined model railway tracks.
Several people have now come forward with information and Mr Wilson added: ‘They’re the ones we really want to get.’
The community has also rallied round the stricken venue, raising more than £8,500 on a GoFundMe page in less than a week.
As a result, more than 10 new cameras which record in 4K quality and have automatic motion tracking have been installed.
The model village was built on Southsea seafront in 1956. It only opened to the public for three weeks in 2021 due to Covid restrictions.
Hampshire Constabulary said both incidents were being investigated and that extra patrols are taking place around the area.
