PARENTS in Heysham are being urged to make sure they know what their kids are doing at weekends and in the evenings after a spate of vandal attacks at a local school.

St Peter's Primary is persistently suffering at the hands of youngsters who meet in the school grounds at the weekend and cause damage.

The latest attack, which involved pellets being fired at windows from an air rifle, caused £1,000 of damage.

The situation is so bad that it could soon begin to hit lessons, says head teacher Richard Sand-erson.

The cash for repairs, like any school, has to come out of the school budget. The knock-on effect is that it takes money away from the pupil's education.

"The school is an important part of the local community, working in partnership with many groups, and the damage we suffer is an incredible' waste of money and time," he says.

Now, Heysham's community beat manager PC Ian Nickson is urging parents to help the school end the epidemic by making sure they know where their kids are at weekends - and by calling police if they see anything suspicious.

"Damage to schools is a big issue and lots of schools suffer, probably because kids are familiar with them. There are options they could take to prevent damage, but it is very expensive," he says.

"Some of the damage seems to have been caused by an air rifle and so there is a youngster walking the streets with a weapon. That is worrying."

Pc Nickson adds that police have stepped up their profile, with officers checking up on schools at weekends, with the result that a number of youths were chased from the grounds and put on a youth referral scheme to curb their behaviour.