THE owner of Hanley Swan Pre-school Playgroup says that the children are upset to be targeted by vandals twice in the space of just a few weeks.

In the most recent incident, offenders broke open a shed in the grounds of the playgroup, and damaged play equipment, including a 'play kitchen' that the youngsters use to make mud pies.

Sally Sinclair, who has owned the pre-school, located at the village hall, for eight years, said: "It must have happened, last weekend, the one before the Bank Holiday weekend.

"We didn't go outside on the Monday because it was raining, but on the Tuesday, one of the staff noticed the lock on the shed had been broken, and the play cooker inside had been damaged.

"It's a real shame because the children were sad that anyone would do this, because the love using the play kitchen to make mud pies during their outdoor play sessions. They don't understand why someone would want to smash things up like this."

She said the play kitchen probably cost about £100, and repairing the shed would costs another £50.

"We do a lot of fundraising, so it seems a pity that we have to spend the money replacing and repairing things that have been damaged, instead of using it to buy new things for the children," she said.

This is not the first time the pre-school has suffered from vandalism. A few weeks ago, the gate which secures the outdoor play area was broken, forcing the pre-school staff to keep the children indoors until it could be repaired.

And offenders have also been getting into the fenced-off area, presumably by climbing over the fence, and riding their bikes up and down an artificial mound, damaging the turf.

"Putting all this right takes time and money," said Miss Sinclair. "We're planning to install CCTV as a deterrent and that costs money as well, money that we'd rather spend on other things."

The playgroup has been going for about 30 years, and at the moment has 35 children attending it.

Anyone with information about the latest vandalism is urged to call police on 101, quoting incident number 22CC/33564G/15.