A £15,000 fence has been designed to deter vandals at a home for the elderly.

Hourigan House residential care home in Myrtle Avenue, Leigh has been targeted by thugs over recent years.

Anne Fillingham, manager of the Borough Care Services home set in the heart of Westleigh, said: "We've been suffering for quite some years. Apart from being badly vandalised by graffiti artists, some of the things that happen are unbelievable.

"The residents have been frightened by kids climbing on to the fire escape, windows have been broken and walls daubed with paint.

"Someone even marked out a football pitch on the grass with painted lines and another gave kids' pony rides around the grounds! If you say anything to them it is just met with verbal abuse."

She added: "This is a lovely home which has recently been refurbished. Now we are hoping to erect a 1.8 metre high wooden fence at the back.

"It is going to cost us a fortune, somewhere between £10 -15,000. But it will be worth it and give residents the privacy of their own garden."