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ATTLEBORO It's more reminiscent of a hostile border crossing or prison camp, but barbed wire has been strung at Balfour Riverwalk park in a desperate attempt to keep vandals from wrecking a fence there - again.

Parks Superintendent Sonny Almeida said the wire was installed along a 25-foot section of fence at the park because it's been destroyed numerous times over the years - including three times this year, alone - by "hooligans" who climb over it, then pull it apart.

Youths who use a skateboard area next to the 8-foot-high fence that backs up to the Bronson Building off North Main Street are Almeida's prime suspects, but he said he has yet to catch anyone in the act.

Almeida said frustration with the constant destruction prompted the installation of the spiked steel strands.

"I just can't let the city keep spending money for the same thing over and over again," he said. "Do I want to do that? No, of course not, but I've got to stop that vandalism -and that's one way to stop it." He suspects the youths use parts of the fence in their skateboarding activities.

A group of skateboarders at the park Thursday afternoon denied any knowledge of the vandalism, and weren't fully aware of the barbed wire.

"I just noticed that," one young man said of the prickly loops, without any apparent concern.

The destruction of the fence is only one aspect of ongoing vandalism that has plagued the park practically since it was built in the late 1990s.

The city moved a small gazebo from the Riverwalk to Capron Park late last year to protect it from vandals.

Almeida said a foot bridge across the Ten Mile River is constantly under assault. Boards on the bridge are kicked out on a regular basis, he said.

The park is under video surveillance to improve security.

GEORGE W. RHODES can be reached at 508-236-0432 or at grhodes@thesunchronicle.com.