Vandals have been condemned for putting soap in the newly refurbished fountain in Devizes Market Place.

Foam flowed down into the basin overnight on Saturday.

No damage was caused to the fountain which only reopened last month after a £61,500 restoration but Devizes Town Council, which owns the historic monument, had to send two workers to drain the fountain and the work took them a few hours to complete on Tuesday.

Police said two youths were seen at the fountain around the time of the incident and are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 0845 408 7000.

Inspector Dean Knight said: "We are treating this very seriously. A great deal of effort and money has gone into restoring a well known Devizes landmark. Anybody found causing damage will be dealt with very severely."

The fountain used to be a target for vandals and Simon Fisher, deputy town clerk, was disappointed at this incident.

He said: "It's a harmless prank but it's time consuming for us because we have to have two men cleaning it out for a couple of hours.

"Our staff flushed the foam out and the fountain is working again. We have ordered a new solution to put in the water which should stop it happening in the future."

The fountain has been brought back to its former glory. The refurbishment included new stonework and the bowl of the fountain was repaired enabling water to flow again for the first time in 18 months.

A festival to celebrate the repair work was held on March 17 and the evening ended with a laser light show.