CRUEL vandals have left a trail of destruction in the nursery garden at the Burgh Primary School in Musselburgh.

They destroyed the mud kitchen, which had its top broken, trampled flowers and plants, ripped a swing from a tree and damaged a storage shed.

The children, aged just three and four, and staff were upset when they discovered the damage on their return to school on Monday, April 24.

Headteacher Karen Fleming has now issued an appeal to neighbours and members of the public to help look after the school environment and call the police if they see anything suspicious goings on at the Kilwinning Street premises.

She told the Courier that those responsible “rampaged” around the garden, adding: “There have been ongoing issues with vandalism over the years.”

She said that the mud kitchen, used by the children to make mud pies and meals as they played outside with nature, was made by a pupil’s dad for the school. The youngsters also enjoy tending the plants and flowers.

“The outdoors is such a crucial part of the nursery and the children love the mud kitchen. It was very upsetting for the smaller children to see the garden like that,” added Mrs Fleming.

She pointed out that the closed circuit television camera had also been tilted up.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said police were aware of the incident.