VANDALS have ‘trashed’ a Darwen primary school nature garden and smashed classroom windows in two attacks.

Bricks were used in both incidents at St Peter’s, in Turncroft Road, which also saw a skylight broken, allowing rainwater to flood corridors and affect the fire alarm system.

Headteacher Michelle Tracy said she now had no option but to implement a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to the use of school fields after school hours.

She said: “We have had quite a few problems recently.

“We have wonderful fields and facilities at this school that the community use outside school hours, and as long as people treat it with respect, that’s fine.

“But we’re going to have to stop all that now. It’s sad that we have to do this, but we can’t continue to have our premises vandalised.”

The headteacher said the windows had been repaired but the skylight could not be fixed yet because of the rain and wind.

She added: “It means rain is leaking in and we’ve got buckets everywhere.

"It’s already managed to affect the fire alarm system, and in total will cost over £1,000 to repair.

“That money should be being spent on the children of the school. Money is tight enough as it is.”

The classroom window and skylight were smashed on the evening of Sunday, September 5.

Before the summer holidays a wooden bench in the school’s nature garden was left in pieces by yobs and a toilet window was also smashed.

Police are investigating and urge anyone with information to come forward.