Hidden CCTV cameras are going up in a bid to stop a Glossop beauty spot from being destroyed.
Peak National Park Rangers are carrying out the covert operation at Shire Hill Woods which they say could be wiped out by fire.
In an unprecedented move they are also contacting schools to try and identify youngsters responsible for the deliberate damage.
Wardens have also forged a partnership with police, firefighters and people living near the Queens Drive/Snake Pass woods.
Marchington, who own and work the adjacent quarry, are also involved in the multi-agency crackdown. The aim is to catch the culprits before someone is seriously hurt and combat what the partners see as anti-social behaviour.
Posters going up at access points to the 73 acre woods claim young vandals are tearing down trees, breaking fences and cutting through razor wire.
Warden Fiona Draisey also says laughing gas cannisters, broken bottles and burnt & abandoned tents are regularly found. Rangers claim dogs and children have already been injured by broken glass.
Fiona- who compiled the posters- said: “Some youngsters have been identified; parents, schools and police have been told. Photos have been posted on the Glossop Facebook page.
“Most young people involved are decent local kids who are being led astray by peer pressure.”
Fiona believes parents are unaware of what their children are getting up to- and would be ‘shocked and ashamed’ if they did.
Signs banning camping and lighting fires in what are Glossop’s oldest woods will be made more visible. In the hope of stamping out the problem before it gets any worse, the signs are asking anyone with information or ‘witnessing trouble’ to phone the police on 101.
Damage to the woods usually occurs in July when students hold drinking raves in isolated areas of the beauty spot. But neighbours say it is now taking place on a more regular basis.