VANDALS have targeted a Newport primary school three times in the past month.

At Pentrepoeth Primary School in Rhiwderin, since the Christmas break, flowerbeds and hanging baskets have been destroyed, empty vodka bottles and drugs packets have been found and one weekend teachers came in to find a tent had been pitched on the field.

In previous months, its lightning conductor was ripped off, its allotments were trashed, a pupils’ award-winning eco display was ruined and youngsters were seen climbing up on to the school’s glass-panelled roof.

Teacher John Willmore said it had been a problem for a number of years but had escalated recently.

He said teachers were having to check the grounds every Monday morning to make sure it was safe for the children and that nothing which could cause injuries had been left.

Mr Willmore said the children were becoming disheartened and were starting to think there was little point in improving the school environment because it was likely to be ruined.

He said: “We are getting to the end of our tether.”

Mr Willmore said part of the problem was the school only had a fence around part of the site, meaning the grounds are accessible at all times.

He is now urging the city council to complete the job to help make the school more secure.

The school says the incidents have been reported to the police and teachers are keeping a photographic log of the damage.

Newport council was unavailable for comment.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Help to stop these vandals

IT COMES to something when a primary school is repeatedly targeted by mindless vandals.

But since returning to school after the Christmas break, a matter of just a few weeks, Pentrepoeth Primary in Rhiwderin has seen its flower beds and hanging baskets destroyed.

Empty vodka bottles and drugs packets have been discarded in the school grounds.

The school’s lightning conductor has been ripped off, its allotments trashed and an award-winning pupils’ display ruined.

This is an awful state of affairs.

It must be absolutely soul destroying for the pupils and their teachers, who are trying hard to improve the school environment only for it to be wrecked.

Things are now getting so bad that the first job for school teachers every Monday morning is to check things are safe for the pupils and that nothing has been left behind which could cause them harm.

We would urge Newport City Council to see if it can help secure the site which is only partially fenced off.

And we would appeal to the police to see if they could step up patrols if only to act as a deterrent to the mindless idiots who are causing the problems.