Stonehaven residents are disgusted after vandals ripped flowers from planters and threw them on the ground.
The mess was spotted on the corner of High Street and Arbuthnott Place in the Aberdeenshire town this morning.
The primulas had been planted by Stonehaven Horizon, a group of local volunteers whose aim is to “foster civic pride”.
Stonehaven Horizon convenor David Drudge condemned the mindless vandalism.
He told The P&J: “Rather depressing to see the work that our hard-working Horizon group does trashed in this way.”
The community has hit out at the vandalism, which took place in an area known locally as Arbuthnot Drain.
Ross Milne, who walked past the plants on the ground this morning, wrote on Facebook: “Hope that made you feel nice and tough, whoever it was.”
One woman wrote: ” The Horizon group put in such a lot of time and effort making Stonehaven look nice.
“This is mindless vandalism but not surprising in today’s snowflake society where respect for others is becoming non-existent.
“I don’t think this is the work of seagulls.”
Another wrote: “Very sorry to see this.
“But please be assured your hard work is appreciated by the vast majority of our town.
“Don’t let that very small minority dampen the team’s spirits.”
‘Very disappointing’
Anne Harvey commented: “Aww what a shame, someone having a ‘laugh’ nae doubt.”
Brian Ewen replied: “A ‘laugh’ would be one or two, the whole lot is totally malicious, and deliberate.”
Former Stonehaven Horizon convenor John Cruickshank added that the vandalism was “very disappointing”.
He said: “I think that the plants were newly planted by a team of volunteers who spent time to put them in.”