Peter Pan house gutted by vandals

This kind of stuff gives honest barbarians a bad name:

The house where JM Barrie drew his inspiration for the children’s tale Peter Pan has been ransacked by vandals.

The world famous playwright and novelist was heavily influenced by his childhood memories of Moat Brae house, in Dumfries, after spending his school days there. . .
Groups of youths had been seen congregating outside the building in the town’s George Street before the damage was discovered.
Later, it was discovered furniture had been set on fire, and bathroom suites throughout the imposing red sandstone building had been destroyed.
In addition, windows, lights and mirrors were smashed, leaving floors covered in glass.
The vandals also ripped plasterboard from the walls, exposing huge gaps between rooms and stairwells. . .

Barrie wrote in his memoirs about Peter Pan: "Our escapades in a certain Dumfries garden which was an enchanted land to me was certainly the genesis of this work."
The garden, in which the young Barrie played with two school friends, was described by the writer as the model for the fictional realm of Neverland, where Peter Pan is set.
Barrie fans had hoped to buy the house when it went on the market two years ago and turn it into a museum. However, it was sold at auction to an unnamed Glasgow businessman for £80,000. At the time, he said he had no plans to preserve its heritage and the property has lain empty since then.
The house, which before the sale, had been a hospital and then a nursing home, was first targeted by vandals in September last year.
However, the latest damage is by far the greatest the property has received and councillors estimate it could cost as much a £80,000 to repair.
A spokesman for Dumfries and Galloway Police said they are investigating the incident.
The spokesman added: "We are aware of the vandalism problems at the Moat Brae building and will be keeping a close eye on the situation. "We will make our visits to the site more frequent, and if our officers do find kids around that area they will warn them about the potential dangers of entering the house because the building may not be structurally sound."

No wonder crime is out of control in the UK: "Please don't break into that house; you might hurt yourself" may be the strongest deterrent option the police have left now that judges have stopped sending burglars to jail. "Do the crime, do no time".

Here's the BBC story on the sale of the house a bit over two years ago.

Posted by David on January 17, 2003 10:16 AM