Just two weeks after the Peace Bridge across the Foyle opened, vandals have broken two glass panels and stolen several of the lifebelts positioned at different points along the structure.

Two panels of the reinforced 4cm-thick glass, each measuring two metres square, are being held together with hazard tape until replacements are made. The damage is expected to cost several thousand pounds.

The First and Deputy First Ministers led an estimated 70,000 people across the £14m structure a fortnight ago and in the intervening days thousands of pedestrians have used the bridge.

A spokeswoman for Ilex Regeneration Group said footage from CCTV cameras monitoring the bridge is currently being examined with a view to prosecuting the culprits.

The destruction, which happened in the early hours of Sunday, has provoked strong local condemnation.