THIS WEEK IN 1972: QA Hospital building site wasa playground for young vandals

He warned parents that the site was riddled with heavy machinery, steep-sided trenches up to 20ft deep, and dangerous pieces of jagged metal.

‘Frequently, quite young children can be seen wandering around the grounds,’ he said.

‘They clamber on to the machines, throw stones, and generally interfere with the construction work.

‘They are in great danger of being hurt. They are also trespassing, and I urge parents to warn them not to go near the site.’

Another serious problem was vandalism, he said. Children had started stealing from food trolleys, and had broken many of the lamps which used to light the main road around the hospital grounds.

Some motorists had even started using the hospital grounds as a ‘thoroughfare’, he said.

‘These things are a great nuisance to all of the contractors, staff, visitors, and patients alike. Nursing staff, who have to make frequent journeys around the hospital grounds, suffer particularly.’