School hit by break-ins three nights in a row

The incidents come just two weeks after parents held a sponsored walk in Lurgan Park and raised £1,200 to buy toys and equipment for the children.

And they say it is now possible that some of these funds may have to be used to pay for the repairs.

The latest incident was on Tuesday night around 9pm when the culprits climbed onto the roof of the school and broke a skylight, which then collapsed though the ceiling of one of the pupil toilets.

Children going into school on Wednesday morning were unable to use the toilets while the mess was cleaned up.

On Monday and Tuesday nights, the culprits, believed to be young teenagers, damaged the chicken coops in what is thought to have been an attempt to hurt the children’s pet hens, Maisy and Daisy.

The school has since had to remove the hens - a move which has been upsetting for the young pupils, according to principal Sandra Aston. She said, “Nursery should be a safe place for young children. They have seen the police coming to the school two days in a row and we have had to tell them that the police are here to help us.”

One parent, who helped organise the walk and has a daughter at the nursery, said, “The kids are losing out because of these people who have nothing better to do than vandalise a nursery school.

“Some of the children didn’t even want to go into the toilets after they were cleaned up because they thought the ‘bad boys’ were still there.”

MLA Jonathan Buckley described the break-ins as “totally disgusting” and said he would be asking police to increase foot patrols in the area.