Vandals left behind a scene of destruction – and a trail of blood – after going on the rampage at a church hall.
A child’s party had to be cancelled after the vandalism was discovered early on Saturday.
Caretakers of the St Nicolas Hall, The Vista, Spalding, said it was just the latest in a series of vandalism attacks on the venue – one of the broken windows had only been replaced last week after it was smashed during the night.
A church official said: “We had kids parties booked for Saturday but had to cancel.
“This sort of thing happens every Friday and Saturday night – when you come in in the morning you never know what you are going to find.
“It is never very pretty, with drink cans and drug wrappers, but this is worse than usual.
“Unfortunately it is quite an old building, almost 50 years, and although we have insurance, we struggle to stand still on the maintenance and upkeep as it is.
“This sort of thing just loses us bookings, which makes it even harder to get the funds we need to keep it going.”
It appeared the vandals had made a deliberate effort to break as much glass as possible, with evidence of bricks being thrown inside.
Others had been punched and kicked with great force – enough for one pane to be knocked completely out.
All six panels of the front doors were broken, with a similar scene of devastation around the back, where more windows and doors were smashed, leaving the venue facing an insurance claim of well over a thousand pounds to repair the damage.
As well as the broken glass, the vandals went on the rampage inside the hall, smashing crockery, before leaving behind beer cans and evidence of drug taking.
It is believed one of the gang may have required medical attention after the spree of “wanton destruction” as a large pool of blood was visible on the hall’s rear steps and a trail could be seen leading away all the way into the town centre.
A spokesman for Lincolnshire Police said: “It is quite possible one of the offenders may have needed medical attention as the first aid kit from the premises was opened and bandages removed.
“Our crime scene investigation team has forensically examined everything of evidential value, which will include the blood left behind at the scene.
“We would encourage those responsible for the incident to come forward.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Lincolnshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 101 of April 12.
