Hallowe'en thieves target school

Tadley school urges witnesses to come forward after masked youths trashed and raided school shed

HOODED and masked youths broke into a shed at a Tadley primary school on Hallowe'en, stealing Christmas goods intended for pupils and vandalising the shed.

Lyn Downes, headteacher of Burnham Copse Primary school, New Church Road, said several parents had told her they witnessed the group of about 15 youngsters boasting of their exploits on Monday night after they broke into a shed in the school grounds, at about 8pm on Monday evening (October 31).

The shed was left smeared in in tomato ketchup and mustard and hundreds of pounds worth of goods - paid for by parent-teacher fundraising activities - were stolen.

Mrs Downes said the group made off with about £500 worth of goods from the shed, which included Christmas presents intended for ‘Santa's sack' at the school's Christmas fair, plus Christmas tree lights and cans of soft drinks also stored ready for the fair.

“Acts of mindless vandalism were carried out, such as liberally spraying canisters of tomato ketchup and mustard around everything in the shed,” said Mrs Downes, adding this created an additional “unpleasant clearing up task” for school staff and PTA members.

She added that the following morning, in response to a text message she sent to pupil parents for any information about the incident, several people came into the school to speak to her about what they had seen and overheard the night before.

Chairwoman of the school's PTA, Charlotte Coleman, said the PTA was a “strong and supportive group” which worked hard to provide a few little extras for the children.

“Mindless theft and vandalism like this leaves us all feeling disheartened and sad,” she said. “Replacing what we have lost will probably wipe out any profit we might have made at the Christmas fair, as well as causing a lot of extra work for everyone.”

Mrs Downes said the school was reliant on local knowledge to track down members of the group. “They must have planned the raid, knowing full well they were stealing from small children - some of whom may even be their younger brothers and sisters - under the cover of ‘Trick or Treat' festivities,” said Mrs Downes.

She appealed to those involved to admit to their irresponsible behaviour and appreciate the distress caused in the Tadley community.

“There must be parents in Tadley who are aware of some of these items appearing in their house, as well as garments soiled with the black sticky paint from the school fences. We appeal to them to work with us in nipping this behaviour in the bud and preventing an escalation,” said Mrs Downes.

Hampshire Constabulary spokeswoman Vicky O'Hare confirmed that police were investigating the incident, which was reported to them at 8.19pm on Monday.

Anyone who saw anything suspicious is asked to contact Pc Dean Stickland at Tadley police station on the non emergency telephone number, 101.