Evening Press leader

Schools are easy targets for the vandals. Many were built in an era when mindless damage was not a problem, and are therefore unprotected against it.

The perpetrators know precisely when and how to attack. They are aware that schools will be unoccupied at night - the days when the caretaker lived on the premises are all but gone. And, as most of the vandals are current or former pupils, they know the layout inside out.

That is why it is so difficult for police to catch them. But it does not explain the alarming rise in the number of attacks. On average, a North Yorkshire school is vandalised every night. In the last three months more than £15,000 of damage has been done.

Put simply, the county is undergoing a vandalism epidemic. Everyone suffers as a result.

The main victims are, of course, the school communities. It is depressing for teachers and pupils alike to see their working environment desecrated by the moronic minority. In the more extreme cases, children have lost all their work in fires started by arsonists.

The cost of constantly clearing up the mess diverts vital resource away from the classroom. And with an annual repair bill of £70,000 a year, every taxpayer is hit in the pocket.

The situation is likely to worsen unless an effective anti-vandalism strategy can be implemented. This would involve schools, the education authorities and the police working together to protect property and deter potential vandals.

But the key individuals are, as York head teacher Mark Barnett rightly points out, parents. It is their responsibility to teach children to respect people and property.

And parents must keep a close eye on their offspring's whereabouts. Greater parental vigilance is the only way to stop more schools being scarred by the vandals.

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