RESIDENTS have condemned vandals who went on a wrecking spree in Kearsley.

Up to 50 slates were shattered on the roof of a primary school and a hole was smashed through the wall of a church in the late night rampage.

Fed up residents say the spate of attacks, which has gone on for months, is making their lives a misery.

The New Jerusalem Church on Primrose Street was targeted last Monday night when a hole was kicked through the roof by an intruder who then wrecked fire doors in an attempt to escape when an alarm went off.

Officials at the church arrived on Tuesday to find a hole had been bored through an outer wall of the structure.

And staff at Kearsley West Primary School, opposite the church, had to repair broken windows, roof tiles and a skylight after a similar attack. Up to 50 roof slates had been broken and names daubed across the school roof.

Over the last 12 months, members of the church have suffered their cars being damaged, graffiti daubed on the walls of the church and damage to roof slates. Hundreds of glass bottles have been smashed in the church grounds and waste bins have been set on fire by gangs of youths regularly drinking in the grounds.

Church officials who have asked the groups to move on, say they often become very aggressive. The area around the church is home to many elderly people, most of whom are now afraid to go out at night.

The damage to both buildings adds up to thousands of pounds.

A member of the church council, who did not want to be named, said: "It is happening nearly every night. It is just unbelievable. A resident rang the police last night, and we called again ourselves this morning, but they have yet to come."

He listed measures taken to try to protect the church. He said: "We had grilles put over all the windows. That cost us £8500. We have recently spent £850 on guards for the drain downspouts as they were kicked off weekly, but they are now moving on to the roof and breaking the spouts there."

An official, who has attended the church for more than 70 years, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: "We are being terrorised."

Mrs Dorothy Lee, headteacher of Kearsley West Primary School, said: "There has been no attempt to break in, it is just mindless vandalism."

A police spokesman said: "We are aware of the problem and we are dealing with each case reported. We understand the nature of the criminal damage can be extremely upsetting and we take the reported crimes extremely seriously."

She added that officers would be making extra patrols of the area.