A BUSY doctor's surgery in a York suburb has become a war zone, thanks to vandals.

Dr Stuart Calder has been serving the community as a GP at Clifton Health Centre, in Water Lane, York, for 30 years.

But now he claims his surgery has been transported to Baghdad because vandals who have caused thousands of pound of damage.

"I have served this community for 30 years, it's a community with a high incidence of disease, much more so than anywhere else in York, so this surgery is important to the people it serves," said Dr Calder.

"The trouble is that for the past 12 months we have been subjected to a constant stream of vandalism, windows being broken and general damage at night.

"The staff here put everything in to trying to serve the community and we all feel like there's a war against us - you feel a bit like you are in Baghdad.

"We had a perimeter fence put in, but now they are throwing bricks over through the windows.

"Most of the time now we are left seeing patients in a consulting room with a boarded up window.

"When you think how many thousands of pounds it must have cost to replace these windows and the number of people waiting for hip replacements or knee joint replacement or treatment for blindness it might mean someone not getting the operation they need because the money is having to go to this."

In 2005, Dr Calder was nominated for in the Health Service Hero category for his "constant support" to a patient suffering from anxiety and depression in The Press Community Pride Awards.

He is now appealing to members of the local community to report anyone committing the offences.

He said: "I think it's youths that are doing it and it's time for the community to act and report anyone they see doing this kind of thing to the police."

A spokesman for York police confirmed the vandalism had been reported and was under investigation.

This is not the first time there has been trouble with vandalism at surgeries in the area.

In 2005, doctors at Rawcliffe Surgery, in Water Lane, put up six-foot high metal railings to protect the facility after 24 windows were broken causing more than £5,000-worth of damage.

On that occasion it was believed the culprits used a ball-bearing gun in a weekend attack.