TEENAGE hooligans have been waging a campaign against contractors on a Waterside building site.

Local youths wanted a skateboard park to be built at Heather Road, Blackfield - and were furious when work started on a £350,000 day nursery.

On one occasion, bricklayers building the new facility came under fire from a

youngster armed with a catapult.

The site has also been plagued by thieves and vandals, despite being surrounded by dozens of houses.

Children playing on scaffolding have sparked fears that a youngster could be killed or seriously injured if they fell.

Now an alarm linked to a klaxon has been fitted in a bid to keep the site secure.

Site supervisor Alex Pert said: "Local youths have been making life very difficult for us. We are building a community pre-school facility for children aged up to five, but some people were against the project from the start."

"They wanted the land to be used as a skateboard park and don't like the fact that something else is being built there instead.

"There have been at least a dozen incidents since June.

"Intruders have destroyed new work, including a wall that was knocked over, and on one occasion someone with a catapult fired stones at bricklayers.

"We've been especially concerned about children playing on scaffolding three metres above the ground.

"It's very dangerous and could prove fatal if someone fell off and landed head first or hit their head on scaffolding on the way down.

"Local residents have been helpful when they've seen people on the land. They have rung the police, who have increased patrols and made the site something of a priority. The area is also being visited by private security guards."

A police spokesman said: "Workmen are building a much-needed facility for the community, but local youngsters are attempting to wreck the project.

"Vandals have done a lot of damage and we've also had reports of children playing on the scaffolding.

"We are concerned about people's safety as well as the destruction that's being caused."

Southampton-based Nolan Davis Ltd is building the day nursery for Totton College, which runs an IT facility at the neighbouring Blackfield Neighbourhood Centre.

College principal Mark Bramwell said: "Very young children and a few youths have damaged fence panels and temporary water pipes used by the builders.

A Blackfield Neighbourhood Centre spokesman said teenagers had now been made aware of the fact that a skateboard facility is about to be built at the Gang Warily centre in nearby Newlands Road.