A FATHER was “disgusted” after taking his 13-month-old daughter to a playpark and discovering excrement on a children’s swing.

It was the first time Nick Cloke, from Blandford, had visited the park behind East Howe Lane.

He has condemned the person who left what he believes to be dog poo on the play equipment, saying it could have “potentially hurt a child”.

He said: “I live in Blandford, but I had arranged to have lunch in Northbourne with some friends. I got there an hour early so I thought I’d take my daughter out to the park. I looked at my phone and saw there was one ten minutes’ walk away.

“My daughter is really into the swings so I took her to those, and what I saw on the toddler’s swing was just disgusting.

“Whoever did this must know that it’s dangerous for children. I don’t know whether they thought it was just funny, but it didn’t end up there by accident as there are two dog bins in the facility, and there were a load of sticks and wet wipes around the swing.

“The park is popular with dog walkers, but I don’t think a normal, responsible dog owner would have done something like this. It was more likely someone just being horrible.”

He added: “I feel sorry for local people who want to enjoy the park. There are loads of families around there. If it was my local park, I’d be very upset.

“I spoke to the council, and they contacted me the next day and said it had been sorted. I don’t know what other action they can take, but I want someone to be blamed for this.”

Nick said the unpleasant discovery had put him off from using the park again.

Michael Rowland, head of parks development at Bournemouth council, said a member of staff was sent out to remove the faeces and clean the swing area.

“Thankfully this sort of thing isn’t a regular occurrence, but when incidents like this occur we do our best to sort the problem out as soon as possible.

“We’re pleased that the vast majority of visitors to our parks appreciate and respect them as space for everyone to enjoy,” he added.