A charity cafe which saw its picnic tables ruined by yobs in a city park has had its broken furniture replaced thanks to a generous offer.
Tables outside The Feed's Waterloo Park Pavilion Cafe, off Angel Road in NR3, were found smashed to pieces last week, leaving staff and volunteers "bitterly disappointed".
Police are searching for the vandals but the cafe's frustration has been eased thanks to a city shopping centre.
Gemma Hyde, a spokeswoman for Castle Quarter, said: "The Feed does such good work and supports so many people locally, so we really wanted to do what we could to help them out.
"We had three benches in storage, which we no longer needed, so we happily gifted them to the social enterprise.
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"Warmer spring days are just around the corner, and we hope the furniture will be well used, bringing lots of people out to enjoy the park cafe."
Chris Elliott, marketing manager for The Feed, initially received a message from one of his colleagues last Wednesday about the incident.
But the generosity of Castle Quarter has helped save the charity from having to dip into its funds for any replacements.
He said: "The donation of some picnic tables is a kind gesture by Castle Quarter.
"It means that, very quickly, there are tables for our customers to enjoy our food and drinks outside.
"It's also saved us money too."
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Police are hoping to hear "from anyone" who has information about the damage.
A police spokeswoman said: "We received a report of criminal damage on Wednesday.
"The incident occurred between 5pm on Tuesday, February 20 and 7.30am on Wednesday, February 21 when three benches were damaged in Waterloo Park.
"Anyone with any information is asked to contact us via our website, 101, or Crimestoppers, quoting reference 36/12129/24."
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