VANDALS have targeted the headquarters of an Eastleigh air training squadron for the fifth time in less than two months.

But despite the unrelenting attacks on the Woodside Avenue base of 1216 (Eastleigh) Squadron of the Air Training Corps, a pledge has been made that the unit will continue to run for the 70 cadets who belong to the organisation.

Commanding officer of the squadron, Dave Barker, told the Daily Echo that, fortunately, the repair bill for smashed windows would be picked up by the South East Reserve Forces Cadet Association.

But he added: "Although it is not going to be money out of our pocket, it is going to come out of the general pot and there will be less for improvements. I don't know why we keep getting targeted. This is the fifth thing in the past two months, it is a real pain."

In the latest raid, six windows valued at £100 were smashed by vandals sometime between Tuesday, December 30 and last Friday.

But the commanding officer of the squadron, which was formed in March 1941, said it was the third window-smashing spree to have happened over the Christmas period.

In November, vandals grounded the cadets after wrecking a 16-seater minibus that had been lovingly restored just months previously.

In an orgy of destruction, the wreckers smashed the vehicle's windscreen, ripped out indicators, bent the windscreen wipers, ripped off wing mirrors and scratched offensive graffiti into the paintwork.

The bus, which is the squadron's only form of transport, is only now about to come back into service after the attack. Just a week before the bus was targeted, vandals ripped guttering from the walls of the squadron's base.

Speaking of the latest raid, Mr Barker said the wreckers had targeted the original building which sits behind a portable building linked by a walkway.

"We discovered the first attack on Christmas Eve and, in between, we have had a few more windows taken out. It is a real mess inside.''

Anyone who saw anything that could help the police with their inquiries into the raids is asked to contact the crimedesk at Eastleigh police station on 0845 045 4545.