Model village owners say a big thank-you

Brothers Mark and Dean Wilson were overwhelmed by the level of help when they released CCTV images after four youths broke into the attraction near Canoe Lake.

Faced with the pictures being published on our website portsmouth.co.uk and shared thousands of times on social media, the culprits handed themselves in to police.

Mark said that he and Dean had agreed to community resolution orders rather than pursue it any further, with the four having to pay £50 each to cover the cost of damage and give a personal apology during a day’s work at the attraction.

‘One wants to go to university and another is going to join the military and we didn’t want to ruin their lives for something that was largely stupidity – they could have caused a lot more damage if they had wanted to,’ he said.

The brothers decided to have a free open day at the model village to thank everyone who supported them after the vandalism attack.

‘We were overwhelmed by it,’ said Mark, who took over the village with Dean 18 months ago.

New security measures have been installed and repairs have now been made to the battlements of the model castle damaged in the incident.

Children from Mayville High School in Southsea will lend a hand by repainting it.

Now the brothers and their partners are busy preparing for Halloween and Christmas events at the village.

‘We love it here and are trying to bring it back to how it was in the 1950s and 60s,’ added Mark.