Those responsible for the “mindless” vandalism of hand sanitiser stations in Carlisle city centre have “let their fellow citizens down”.

The vandalism carried out on eight hand sanitiser stations in the city centre on Sunday triggered dismay across Carlisle and among the city council, which had installed the stations.

Carlisle City Council’s deputy leader Gareth Ellis said the perpetrator or perpetrators of the vandalism have “let Carlisle down”, while a spokesman for the council assured the public that the sanitising stations would be replaced “as quickly as possible” - though at a cost of more than £1,000.

Sunday’s vandalism came after two further hand sanitiser stations were vandalised the previous week.

“I think the people who have done this have let their fellow citizens down,” Mr Ellis said.

He said that measures like the installation of hand sanitiser stations helped provide reassurance that the city centre was as safe as possible to visit - vital for building the public confidence necessary to keep its businesses going.

“We need people to come into the city. Our prosperity is built on people using the city centre.

“We don’t know who it was yet, but we need to make sure that we do find out.

“Those people who carried out the vandalism, they might be children, or they might be young people. The consequences of someone that age catching it are more likely to be quite small.

“But for a lot of people, the consequences may not be that small.

“Simply washing your hands with sanitiser really does help to prevent the transmission of this virus.

“This is about the confidence of the city. If the city doesn’t get back on its feet, there’s going to be difficult times ahead.”

Helen Wylie, manager of the Market Hall in the city centre, said that thankfully, most of the customers who have visited in the past two weeks since it reopened have been responsible.

“There is an element of complacency with some members of the public. You will always get that,” she said.

“Thankfully, the majority of our customers respect the need for the current restrictions and most are showing patience and common sense.”

Cumbria Police's Sergeant Chris Blain said the force was "very disappointed" that the vandalism had taken place.

“We are very disappointed to see the recent damage to the sanitisers, which have been provided by Carlisle City Council," he said.

"We still have a number of enquires to carry out, however, if anyone has any information or anyone witnessed this incident, please call 101 or email: 101@cumbria.police.uk.

“We work closely with our city centre partners, especially during this current lockdown period to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.”