A new communal seating area installed in Halesowen Town Centre with the aim to tackle social isolation has been vandalised overnight.

Video of a group of teenagers ripping plants from the installation was posted to the Halesowen BID Facebook page last night after a local resident captured the footage on camera.

The bench, which is the first to be installed in a UK town centre, forms part of a UK-wide scheme run by The Friendly Bench CIC. It aims to tackle loneliness and social isolation by giving people who are shopping on their own an informal communal seating area.

It also feature sensory planting and was dedicated to Caroline Wiliams, a member of staff at Halesowen College who passed away last year after a battle with cancer. Vicky Rogers, Halesowen BID manager said:

"I'm disgusted at the behaviour of a group of our young people. The bench was installed in memory of someone who was passionate about the community of Halesowen and these mindless vandals have ruined what was a wonderful addition to the town centre.

"We want to welcome young people to our town, but when they act in such a destructive manner they do themselves no favours. The footage will be passed to the police."

The level of outrage was shared amongst other members of the community who posted messages of support on social media, suggesting those responsible should be made to clear the mess up and pay for any damage. One local added:

"Whilst any act of vandalism is terrible and uncalled for, the real issue is the mentality of anyone who wants to rip up plants and damage something that was put there for the community.

"The majority of what they've done can be fixed, but the point is that it shouldn't have to be. The bench serves a really important purpose and sits in the town in memory of an important member of our community. It should be respected as such."