THE headteacher of a school near Pershore has condemned the "mindless" vandals who broke windows and drainpipes over the holiday period.

The hooligans broke 15 classroom windows at St Nicholas Middle School in Pinvin and pulled drainpipes away from the walls.

They also wrecked the school's greenhouse and left broken beer bottles on the playground. The damage cost £1,200 to repair.

Acting headteacher Peter Redfern discovered the vandalism when he went into the school shortly before the start of the new term.

Salt and grit

He also found bags of salt and grit tipped over at the nearby first school.

"Fortunately, we had enough time to get everything mended before the children came back to school," he said.

"It could have been very distressing for them."

Mr Redfern said he was surprised by the attack on the school and said they had not experienced this sort of incident before.

"It's very callous and thoughtless," he said. "I don't think it was aimed at the school in particular - it was just mindless.

"It's difficult to put it into words."

Mr Redfern said the money used to repair the damage should have been spent on the children's education.

"It could make us think twice about developing new facilities outside if they're just going to get broken and wrecked," he added.

He said the vandalism was probably due to the lack of facilities for young people in the area.

"It was probably nothing to do with taking revenge against the school," he said. "But a lot of young people don't have much to do apart from hang around.

"It can be difficult for youngsters growing up in villages."

Anyone with information about this crime should contact the police on 01905 723888. To remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.