VANDALS damaged flowers sponsored by traders in Westbourne .

Workers arrived for work on Saturday morning to find the damage in Poole Road and swept up the mess that had been left behind during the night.

Jacqueline Dirkin, who owns Mason’s Hairdressers, said it looked like the damage had been caused using scissors or a similar tool.

She said: “It’s deplorable because there’s been a lot of money lavished on those flowers and there’s been a lot of care and attention in looking after them.

“Then in one fell swoop someone destroys some of them.”

The baskets cost £120 each to sponsor for Westbourne in Bloom.

Among the flowers affected were those sponsored by LV=, Starbucks and the Romano’s Greek restaurant.

Another basket with no sponsor label was also affected.

Danny Beshaj, chef at Romano’s, said they have had their artificial flowers damaged before.

He said: “I heard a lot of noises just after midnight and then this morning I saw they had been cut.”

Residents in Surrey Road said they also heard a group of people trying to damage signs outside their homes later on that night, at about 2am.