Fairy doors creator disenchanted by vandalism

The creator of a series of wooden fairy houses says he can see no option but to take them all down after they were repeatedly vandalised.

John Rowe made the Enchanted Trail at Coosebean Woods in Truro during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 to "lift morale".

He has since created 100 intricate wooden houses, some of them in memory of local people who have died, but said he was dismayed by the latest spate of vandalism.

Mr Rowe said he had taken down two of the miniature houses already as it was "monotonous when you come along and see damaged doors lying on the floor".

Damage over the last five years has included doors being ripped off, windows pushed in and wooden posts uprooted.

Mr Rowe said he had asked Truro City Council to install security cameras in the area but this had been declined.

He said he had tried not to blame vandals for the damage but after a while it became obvious they were the culprits.

He said: "I made excuses all the time saying perhaps it was an accident, perhaps the door wasn't strong enough, but it wasn't that all, it was people."

Dog walker Olivia Bundy said the vandalism in January was probably the worst there had been but it had happened many times before.

"John's tried everything he could to stop this from happening, even raising awareness of what the houses mean to people and to kids," she said.

One of the doors which was vandalised in 2020 was erected in memory of bomb disposal expert Olaf Schmid, from Truro, who was awarded the George Cross after his death in Afghanistan in 2009.

Mr Rowe said many had been made in memory of people: "Families have approached me and it's their go-to place.

"They love what they see. It gives them some relief."

Truro residents previously set up a petition asking Truro City Council to erect a plaque to mark the trail.

However, Mr Rowe said now he thought he would probably dismantle most of the remaining houses and restore the trail to "the way it was".

David Rodda, clerk of Truro City Council, said the Enchanted Trail was "very popular" with residents and visitors to Truro and encouraged people to get outside.

He added: "We are aware of the petition and we have met Mr Rowe to discuss his concerns. Over the coming weeks we will be working with him to explore how the threat of vandalism can be reduced."

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