Cowbridge's historic Town Walls have been vandalised over the past weekend.

Slabs and capstones appear to have been deliberately smashed, and piles of damaged rocks were left in a Waitrose trolley, with another parked nearby in the circular area of the ramparts at Old Hall Gardens.

The damage is thought to have occurred between Friday 11 and Sunday 13 June.

Biga John, one of the volunteers that maintains Old Hall Gardens, said the damage was "a devastation" and "mindless disruption".

"It was really distressing because the week before we found that one of the stones had been prised off and smashed into about six different pieces," said Biga.

"I'm also a trustee of the Cowbridge Charter Trust, so we were prepared to pay a bit of money to fix it.

"But this has gone too far, so the trustees have reported it to the police.

"It's appalling, and the pity of it is that this is an area where young people like to spend time."

Grade-II listed and recently restored; the Town Walls are an important part of Cowbridge's history.

"That money could have been spent on other things in the town. But the slabs are quite costly, and you can't just repair it, you have to get new stonework done," said Biga.

She hopes that people can be educated about the impact of the damage.

"I just want people to be able to appreciate the environment in which they live and to help to keep it nice," she said.

A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: "We can confirm that a report of criminal damage to the Cowbridge Town Walls in Old Hall Gardens has been reported to South Wales Police.

"The cost of repairing the broken stones is estimated to be £500.

"If anyone has any information on who might be responsible for damaging the walls, which are a registered ancient monument, they are urged to please contact us quoting occurrence *209105."