Vandalism of some of Dublin's children's playgrounds over the past year has resulted in a repair bill of €200,000, according to Dublin City Council.

Playgrounds in St Anne's Park in Raheny and in the Phoenix Park were burnt to the ground.

Other acts of deliberate damage such as graffiti have cost an estimated €25,000 to clean up over the last 12 months, while general repair to damaged equipment has cost a further €25,000.

The bulk of the remaining €150,000 was spent on repairing and reconstructing Belcamp Park in Priorswood which was destroyed by a fire in 2008, and general repairs to other parks.

The council is now attempting to prevent access to the playgrounds after hours by erecting structures such as high railings, barriers and vandalism proofed materials.

Marian Furlong, who recently brought her children to St Anne's playground which had been "charred to the ground", says CCTV should be installed in order to catch the vandals, who are leaving hundreds of children across Dublin without areas to play in.

"It is absolutely disgusting that anyone would do this to a play area for children. I couldn't believe the damage when I brought my five year old to the park – it was almost completely destroyed."

According to a spokeswoman for Dublin City Council, "the superintendent who looks after the playgrounds has found that some of the biggest costs arise from actually safe-proofing these parks. These are the 'silent costs' of vandalism."

She also said they have stopped constructing certain kinds of playground structures as vandals consistently destroy them.

Figures show that the cost of re-building St Anne's Park after it was burnt down was €19,295.

Figures for the destruction of the playground in O'Devaney Gardens on Dublin's North Circular Road, an area currently undergoing re­gen­eration, have not yet been compiled but are expected to be in the region of €20,000. The playground was completely destroyed and will have to be re-built.