Vandals spray graffiti, toss lifeguard chairs at Portsmouth beach

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. — Sandy Point Beach has been plagued by vandalism in recent weeks, with at least seven incidents since July 13, according to Chief Thomas Lee of the Portsmouth Police Department.

“It’s been quite a bit of an issue here for the town,” Lee said Thursday. “The bathhouse has been sprayed with graffiti, trash buckets thrown all over the beach, chairs dragged to the water.”

In addition, the culprits have littered garbage and broken glass onto the sand, tipped lifeguard chairs, removed the bolts and even set the chairs afloat. So far, two of the lifeguard chairs have had to be repaired.

“When these chairs go out, they’re a hazard to navigation for the harbor master and anything else out there,” Lee said.

Portsmouth police have recovered two missing lifeguard chairs, which the harbor master found near the Glen Park dock, but a third remains missing. The Coast Guard has been informed it may be floating at sea.

The chairs are at least a couple of hundred pounds, so whoever is committing these acts of vandalism is likely not operating alone, according to Lee.

In the past, vandalism typically hasn’t been an issue at the beach. “One time a couple years ago one chair was dragged down to the water, but nothing like this.”

While it hasn’t directly interfered with programs on the beach, it does affect the lifeguards who need to continuously clean up the beach, ask beachgoers for assistance with dragging the chairs back into place, and repair the chairs and more.

“This has gone beyond a childish prank; someone is really going out of their way to harass our beach staff,” Lee said.

A post on the Portsmouth Police Department Facebook page on Wednesday read, “To those that think it’s a good idea to steal and dump lifeguard chairs in the water ... you are creating a danger to the boating community, you will be prosecuted.”

There are no suspects in the vandalism as of yet, but anyone with information is asked to contact the Portsmouth Police Department at 683-0300.