Published: Friday, 31st July, 2009 2:47pm

Vandals target Lochgelly school

by Peter Swindon

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Heartless vandals have smashed picnic tables at a primary school in Lochgelly.

Police described damage to the concrete tables at Lochgelly South as "thoughtless destruction".

Officers were alerted on 25th July and have since issued an appeal for information.

A spokesman said, "Police enquiries are ongoing in an effort to trace the culprit or culprits. Undoubtedly someone in the local community will know who carried out this thoughtless destruction."

Labour councillor for Lochgelly, Mark Hood, was dismayed. He said, "This is the latest in a long series of incidents that have resulted in facilities at our local schools being damaged. It's a real shame that our schools are being targeted in this way.

"We all want the best facilities for the children in our community, and we want our schools to be the best facilities of all. Teachers, pupils and parents at all our schools work hard to attract funding to improve facilities, making our schools a pleasant place for our children to spend time.

"This is just mindless vandalism and has left our community poorer as a result.

He added, "I would ask that if anyone has any information in relation to the vandalism at Lochgelly South Primary School, or any other school in the area, to contact the police."

Councillor Hood also suggested a security bump at schools in the town.

He said, "I will be contacting the police to see what can be done to improve security at all our schools so that this type of thing does not happen again."

Dawn Cook, Fife Council's School Estate Coordinator, said there are no plans to increase security at Lochgelly South because the school "has had very little vandalism in the past".

She added, "The Education Service is continuing to work actively with Fife Constabulary to find ways of deterring and preventing vandalism in schools across the Kingdom, and we would encourage members of the public to report anything suspicious so the appropriate action can be taken."

Anyone with information about vandalism should can contact police anonymously by calling Fife Constabulary on 0845 600 5702 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.