TEENAGE vandals have left a Wendy house in Holbrook as charred remains today after torching it over the Easter weekend.The Wendy house, in a play area behind the Co-op in The Street, is nothing more than a charred frame in the middle of a play area used by toddlers.

TEENAGE vandals have left a Wendy house in Holbrook as charred remains today after torching it over the Easter weekend.

The Wendy house, in a play area behind the Co-op in The Street, is nothing more than a charred frame in the middle of a play area used by toddlers.

Children over 12 are not meant to use the area but according to local residents they frequently hang around there late at night.

A shop worker who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals said: "Sometime just before 10pm on Thursday I heard some kids running along the street.

"My son looked out of the window and saw four to five youths aged around 12 to 16 running past. He didn't recognise them so they may have been from out of town."

Another residents who also did not want to be named said: "The sort of kids that do that to a children's play area are beneath contempt.

"It's a small minority that do this type of thing and I don't know the answer. It's a shame as it's such a small number of sad youngsters who have nothing better to do."

Andrew Preece and his wife said: "Other children are ruining it for the toddlers.

"We won't let our three-year-old daughter, Victoria, go over there now as we don't want her playing with the charred remains.

The playground opened two years ago after a massive fundraising effort throughout the village.

Now one of the main items of play equipment has been destroyed.