Vandals broke into the grounds of a school and smashed play equipment and left obscene graffiti.

Teachers and parents at Woodville Church of England Junior School were left shocked when the shocking images were left on the playground and buildings of the school over half term.

Children were off school at the time, which gave grounds staff the chance to tidy up the mess and it did not affect the day-to-day running of the school, but a small number of children were still coming into school for a holiday club.

Mandy Bennett, whose son is a pupil at the school, says she saw the damage when she was walking her dog on Tuesday, May 29, and noticed it was still there when she took him to the holiday club run at the school.

Shocking images and messages were written on the playground floor

She said: "There had been graffiti left and obscene pictures drawn on the floor. A lot of things had been broken as well. You can tell is it being done by mindless kids.

"I told the caretaker about it all when I saw it and he cleaned it all up quickly.

That's not the point though because it still takes time to clean up and being a local school, it's horrible to think people would want to do this.

"I'm on the PTA and the PTA shed was broken into last year and some things were stolen or strewn around on the playground.

"I hope parents will talk about it to their kids and say how wrong it is. The school has been targeted a few times and I know teachers are asking parents to be vigilant and call the police if they see anything."

Slabs leading to the playground have been broken by vandals

The mum-of-one, who lives opposite the school in Brunt Lane, said the school has installed CCTV cameras on the playground in the past few months, but she is not sure if they are in the correct position to have seen what happened.

The school has said the people responsible have caused damage to the school, toy boxes and several other items in the playground.

In a statement, executive head teacher, Jayne Smart, said: "We are extremely concerned that there have been incidents of children / young people getting into school grounds when the schools are closed.

"They have been getting onto the roof, and have been causing damage to the school, to toy boxes and other items as well.

A box to store toys was broken into and damage caused

"We are very concerned about the damage that is being done to the property, and also particularly worried about the potential for serious injury to the persons that are involved.

"The police have been notified and they will be keeping a closer eye on the premises.

"Can we please ask all the parents, carers and friends of the school to be vigilant when in and around the area, and report any suspicious activity to the police without delay?"