RESIDENTS of a village near Winchester have been left shocked after a popular children’s play park in the area was set on fire by arsonists on Friday night.

The incident happened at a kids’ park in Fraser Road, in Kings Worthy, on Friday, September 23.

The Chronicle had shared of a video of the park on fire captured by a man who alerted the firefighters in the early hours of Saturday.

READ MORE: Kids park set on fire near Winchester

Now, a video from Sunday morning shows the extent of the damage caused by the fire.

A portion of the park and some equipment are seen completely destroyed in the fire. A car parked near the park was also damaged in the fire.

The park has been closed by Kings Worthy Parish Council.

Parish council chairman Matthew Miller-Hall said the wooden steam train destroyed in the fire was one of the favourite equipment of kids in the area.

“Kids absolutely loved playing on it and it was the first thing that they played on when they went to the park,” Mr Miller-Hall said.

“It’s a toddler play park and it's been there for a good two decades, if not longer. A lot of children who have grown up in the area have played on it. The train and the park was a big part of their childhood. It's hit everybody very hard.”

SEE ALSO: Winchester City Council questioned over 'enormous' budget

This is not the first time the park has been targeted by anti-socials. The parish council chairman said it has been having problems with graffiti for a while.

Mr Miller-Hall said: “We've been doing a lot of remedial work to try and remove the graffiti as it's been put up. But this is the most extreme thing that we've had in the area. And I know that the whole community is shocked and really angry about it.”

The parish council has reported the incident to the police.