VANDALISM against both public and private property has become a feature of the British scene in the 1990s.

But now it seems that this blight is taking on frighteningly new proportions, with arson becoming a major weapon in the attacks on buildings.

A Horwich vicar is considering using security guards to protect his church after petrol was poured over its main doors last Friday and set alight - the seventh arson attack in the area in recent months. And another blaze left a Breightmet secondary school facing a damage bill of around half a million pounds.

Let's hope that those responsible are dealt with in a manner that deters others from joining the firestarters.

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