A SPORTS pavilion fell foul of a rampaging pack of vandals who used a battering ram to smash their way in through a reinforced glass window.

In a whirlwind of destruction the gang of 20 yobs shattered crockery, tore cupboard doors off their hinges, smashed chairs, hammered shower fittings off the wall and shattered the pavilion's windows, causing damage put at nearly £5,000 at Woodside Park, Lymington.

The attack was the second time in less than a week that vandals had struck at the pavilion.

And the damage is so vast that the owner, Lymington and Pennington Town Council, has been forced to close it, causing widespread disruption to weekend cricket fixtures, football practices and the croquet club.

Disappointed town clerk Ray Jones said: "This is just an act of mindless vandalism with no apparent motive. I don't know why anyone would do this. Perhaps they think it's funny."

A neighbour living in nearby Ridgeway Lane raised the alarm at 11.30pm after complaining of banging and loud noises.

Police say the group of youths, who were caught on CCTV, tore up a four-foot split log from a fence surrounding a nearby children's playground, which they used to shatter the window and gain entry to the front of the single-storey brick pavilion.

Builders moved in yesterday to try and repair the damage to the pavilion, which Mr Jones said he hopes will be back in action next weekend, in time for the start of the football season.

New Forest district councillor Kevin Ault said: "It's heartbreaking. I just hope the people who work so hard to run these clubs aren't discouraged by this wanton destruction."

The town clerk said the occasional window had been broken at the pavilion in the past, but it had never suffered such a devastating attack.

First published: August 21