A TOWN centre Christmas tree snapped in half after a group of “yobs” attempted to climb it.

North Wales Police said bottles and a glass window were also smashed during the spate of vandalism in Ruthin town centre after 2am on Sunday, December 15.

“We were called at 2.25am to report a large group tried to climb a Christmas tree on Castle Street,” a police spokesperson said. “The top half snapped off and tree lights were broken. There were also broken glass bottles.”

A resident said the incident is part of a spate of “drunken behaviour” by late-night pubgoers in recent weeks.

“This follows drunken behaviour on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings,” they said. “A plate glass window opposite Ruthin Gaol has been smashed.

“Many of the public houses in the area are respectable and deserve no complaint.”

Other residents took to Facebook group Denbigh Town Talk to express their anger.

One said: “This is so so sad. There’s a part of me that hopes it was the wind and that no one would do something like this in Ruthin.”

Another said: “We all were young at some point in life, and went out, got drunk and did stupid things, but to break and damage things is just disrespectful.”

Cllr Gavin Harris, mayor of Ruthin, described the incident as a “mindless waste of energy” but thanked residents who had offered donations towards a replacement tree.

“Ruthin Town Council and the town clerk are trying to arrange a replacement by Thursday,” he added.

“The Castle Hotel have been asked to review their CCTV to see if we can understand what happened.”