A fundraising wishing well in Penrith could soon be taken out of action after becoming a target for vandals and thieves.
John Rogerson, president of Penrith Lions Club, said their wishing well had been broken into twice in under 12 months — with the latest attack coming at the end of last week.
The wishing well has a sign on it which says: “Help Penrith Lions to Help Others.”
It is situated outside the town’s tourist information centre in Middlegate, but the area is no longer protected by CCTV cameras.
“It’s disappointing that somebody would try to rob a charity for peanuts,” said Mr Rogerson.
On each occasion, ruthless thieves looking for coins had smashed the lock which holds the decorated metal top down and lifted it off using a crowbar.
“There is not a lot of money in — very little money at all. We have decided to call a halt, because it was costing a lot more to repair it than what we get out of it, ” said Mr Rogerson.
He added: “When you look around town now and see all the vandalism and all the smashed windows and everything else like that, it is a pity we can’t do anything about it.” At a meeting at the George Hotel on Monday it was decided that the hassle and cost of repeated repairs was no longer worth it. “One of the things we thought about was just making a flower bed out of it,” said Mr Rogerson. Fellow Lions Club member Bryan Gardiner, of Style Line, which is opposite the wishing well, said: “It hasn’t ever been 100 per cent successful.
“In good times, you could collect about £40 from it, but last time there was about £10. We think maybe it has had its day.” The winning design for the well’s galvanised metal top was chosen by the late Mike Holland, of Penrith, who helped make the wishing well, following a competition held at the town’s Ullswater School.
