POLICE have launched a new drive to combat vandalism at city schools following the revelation that repairing damage is costing Southampton tax-payers £2,000 a week.

In just the first four months of the year 65 burglaries were reported at city schools and a further 80 damage incidents logged.

Nigel Hawton, crime reduction officer at Shirley police station, compiled the statistics from figures held at all three of the city's police stations after being made aware of an increasing amount of school-related crime.

He has found that since the beginning of the year to the end of April £34,000 has been spent on repairing vandalism and replacing stolen goods. If those crime levels carry on to the end of the year the final tally could be as high as £100,000.

And that may just be the tip of the iceberg.

"That is only the crime which has been reported to us and that figure is based on the initial estimated cost of repairs. In many cases the real amount for repairs and replacement is a lot higher, and there may be a lot more schools who haven't reported minor crimes because they don't think they are worthy of mention."

Now the public across the city is being urged to be more vigilant in the fight against crime by reporting suspicious-looking characters near school grounds.

Regular police patrols - particularly by special constables - around schools are also to be stepped up.

"Schools are, by their very nature, usually in built-up residential areas. We are just asking people not to turn a blind eye, but to report anything to us which they think is suspicious. All the money that's being spent on sorting out this problem could be better spent on educating our kids."

A city council spokesman said: "Clearly we welcome any initiative by the police which seeks to prevent theft and vandalism to schools."

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