Removal of vandals' footprint begins at St Paul's Bay beach

Members of the Ministry's Beach Cleaning Unit and the Oil Pollution Control Unit yesterday began the process to remove the burnt oil from the rocky beach next to Wignacourt Tower at St Paul's Bay.

It also joined St Paul's Bay council and the local Bars and Restaurants Association to deplore the act of vandalism when burnt oil was thrown over the white rocky beach on Maundy Thursday.

"This rocky beach area is one of the most favourite among residents as well as among the Maltese and tourists who visit in summer," St Paul's Bay mayor Paul Bugeja said. He insisted he would do his utmost to remedy the vandalism.

In a separate statement, the St Paul's Bay Bars and Restaurants Association noted that the locality was blessed with a long coastline stretching from Mistra Bay as far as Salina Bay, with one of the most beautiful views of St Paul's Islands. "Let us all, as a nation, preserve our natural environment to be enjoyed by all," the association said.

Thursday's act of vandalism was the fourth of a string of destructive acts, most involving the use of staining burnt oil.

On March 25 vandals spilled spent oil on the wall and the paving at the Wied Iz-Zurrieq belvedere, which was recently constructed by the government at a cost of about Lm500,000.

That same week, on March 22, a number of signs and a bus shelter on the way to Hagar Qim were daubed with pro-hunting graffiti and, two days earlier, vandals threw over 15 bottles filled with spent oil into the Ghadira Nature Reserve.