A COMBINATION of vandals and storm-force winds have left a Clydebank primary school’s year-long gardening project in ruins.
Vandals tore the doors off and kicked holes in a polytunnel at Linnvale Primary School three weeks ago.
They came back the following week and used bricks to put more holes in the structure, which cost more than £2,000.
To deter them from returning, and to keep the pupils safe from the splintered wood, school staff decided to remove the doors and store them until they could be repaired.
But when Storm Gertrude hit the town last Thursday night, bringing winds of up to 70mph, the polytunnel was blown from the school over a more than 6ft high wall and fence into a neighbouring garden.
The structure is so twisted it can’t be repaired, leaving pupils and staff distraught.
Mark Hand, of West Dunbartonshire Environment Trust, is one of the volunteers who spent several months on and off throughout the winter helping erect the polytunnel.
He was back out last Friday morning to help remove it.
He said: “It think that it’s beyond repair. It’s too twisted.”
Pupils, staff and volunteers spent the past year putting the scheme in place to enable them to grow food year round and learn to cook it and were ready to move on to the next stage of putting kitting out the polytunnel with raised beds.
P7 teacher Lesley Dalrymple told the Post: “The children all had plans of what they wanted to grow. Some wanted to grow sweetcorn and peppers. They were really excited.
“With the storm and the doors being off at either end it’s created a wind tunnel, which has lifted. We’re devastated. We wanted to have something that meant we could grow things throughout the school year and have a large group of children within a safe environment, learning where their food comes from.”
She vowed that the school would not be beaten by the vandals and said they were considering various options, including stepping up security or moving the location.
She added that any help to come up with a solution which would let the pupils get their plans back on track would be welcomed.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101.
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