MARAUDING vandals smashed five windows in the foyer of Fair Oak Village Hall in Shorts Road causing £450 worth of damage.

Now, an appeal has gone out for anyone who saw or heard the wreckers to come forward.

Fair Oak and Horton Heath Parish Council clerk Glenda Willis said the windows were made of heavy gauge toughened glass that is difficult to break.

"We are convinced somebody came prepared because they had to have had something very heavy to break through the glass. They were either wanting to get into the building or wanting to do some damage."

She added: "It is heartbreaking because it is a lot of money and you think why do they do it" The clerk said the village hall experienced "little spates" of vandalism but pointed out that the area did not suffer as badly from wanton damage as other parts of the Eastleigh borough.

"We do occasionally get broken windows but it is usually plants that are ripped up,'' she commented.

"We have had a lot of shrubs taken out," she added.

In the recent Eastleigh crime and Disorder Audit, Fair Oak was towards the bottom of the league for recorded incidents of vandalism and arson.

The audit showed Fair Oak and Horton Heath had a vandalism crime rate of seven per thousand population compared to 18.7 in Eastleigh town centre, 15.4 in Chandler's Ford south and east and 13.3 in the parish of Hound.

But neighbouring Bishopstoke recorded a lower rate of 6.2 crimes per thousand population while the vandalism rate in Chandler's Ford north was just 4.3.

Anyone with any information about the damage to the village hall should contact Eastleigh police on 01703 335444.

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