Rainbow bench painted black by vandals restored

A rainbow bench installed at a town in Derbyshire to encourage interaction has been restored after it was painted black by vandals.

The Happy to Chat bench in Heanor was put in place in May 2022 as part of a scheme "to promote social connection and reduce the negative impacts of isolation", Heanor and Loscoe Town Council said.

But town clerk Andrew Sharpe said in the past few days, somebody had attacked the bench and painted its bright colours black.

Mayor Alan Abernethy and councillor Sean Hind repainted the bench, on the corner of Mundy Street and Ilkeston Road, on Wednesday.

Before the repairs were carried out, Mr Sharpe said: "The plaque says, on the bench, happy to chat, sit here if you don't mind someone stopping to say hello.

"But obviously somebody has decided that they're not happy to chat on there.

"We won't let the actions of some people disturb what is a positive thing for the rest of Heanor and Loscoe.

"It's sad that some people just don't tolerate some things, and we will do our very best to get that back to its former glory."

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