VANDALS have attacked a second school on Eastleigh's giant Boyatt Wood housing estate, causing damage estimated at £2,000.
The raid on Shakespeare County Junior School in St Catherines Road comes only four days after wreckers went on the rampage at Crestwood Community School, where they used bricks, stones, concrete blocks and scaffolding poles to smash 53 windows and two security cameras.
The raid on the Crestwood school left damage estimated at £4,000 and sparked a massive clear-up operation to enable the secondary school to re-open following the Easter break.
Police said they believed the school was targeted after rival gangs squared up to one another and then went on the rampage.
Today they revealed that video footage from the school had given investigating officers a "clear indication" of those suspected of being responsible for the Crestwood damage and added a number of arrests were expected.
Now police are investigating another wave of vandalism on the estate.
A spokeswoman at Shakespeare County Junior School said six double-glazed windows at the school had been damaged on Monday evening, leaving an estimated £2,000 repair bill.
Fortunately, because the windows were double glazed, panes of glass shattered rather than going into classrooms and the school was able to open normally the following day after rigorous safety checks had been carried out.
Police said the same night there had been a theft of alcohol from the Co-op in Shakespeare Road and youths had smashed the window of the nearby Video Plus shop by throwing a can of beer at it.
Windows in the community hall at Crestwood Community Centre had also been smashed by youths and £300 of damage had been caused to a window in the adjoining St Peter's Church in Shakespeare Road.
A police spokesman said: "Youth nuisance and anti-social behaviour on the Boyatt Wood estate remains the subject of a Problem Resolution
in a Multi Agency Environment (PRIME) initiative and officers from Eastleigh police station are investigating all offences that are reported to them."
He added that CCTV footage is still being viewed to try to identify those responsible.
"They will be dealt with robustly. Residents should be assured that Eastleigh police are doing all within their powers to bring an early end to these disturbances in a bid to restore order to the neighbourhood."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article