Report by

NICK SMITH

VANDALS have left a group of Winsford children distraught after wrecking an environmental project in their school grounds.

On Monday night last week, a polythene tunnel and pond, which the pupils of Oaklands Special School spent three months working on, were wrecked by malicious intruders.

Classroom assistant Kevin Smith, who organised the project, has hit out at the culprits.

He said: "We've been doing an environmental project area and someone has slashed up the tunnel and tried to knock holes in the pond.

"It's a great shame with all the work the children have put in. They're devastated. God knows why someone wants to do this."

The school suffered similar problems last year and erected a security fence. Although this has improved the situation, this latest attack is a bitter blow.

Kevin added: "Someone's waited until it's all completed and vandalised the lot. The children want to replace it and get on with it.

"They want to do environmental work again but we have to hire buses to go outside to other places. That's why we do our own work in the school grounds. It's devastating to have it vandalised by a couple of thugs."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.