Security at Gunnersbury has improved with the introduction of Park Guard patrols. However, two recent joy-riding incidents underline how hard it is to oversee 186 acres in the middle of the night.

Rob Engelbrecht has sent this photo of damage caused by the second incident on the night of 15/16 January, near the children’s playground.The 19th century mounting block, used after the Rothschilds introduced polo matches on the field (and only relatively recently restored), was destroyed and a young tree, one of a row of 5 funded by the Friends, uprooted.

The photo looks towards Lionel Road and shows the burnt-out vehicle with the tree beneath it.