A YORK nursery school is finding itself increasingly the target of vandals.

Acorn Nursery, which is in the grounds of Queen Anne School, has been plagued by vandals since Queen Anne's closed as a school last summer.

In the latest incident, 30 panes of glass in the nursery were smashed. It follows on from recent random acts of vandalism including a gate being wrenched off and a fence pulled down.

Hazel Reavill, who is co-principal of the nursery with Anne Bramall, said staff could not take children far into the grounds of the school as glass and other debris littered the area.

She said that the upheaval caused by having to move to different parts of the nursery to avoid those affected by the vandalism was "wearing everyone out".

"All the local youths do know this is a nursery and we have usually been spared in terms of burglary and the like.

"Most people appreciate this is a place for young children, but they don't seem to care recently."

Sgt Martyn Welburn, of Clifton Moor police station, said there had been problems during the evenings on a weekend, including youths climbing on to the school roof.

"The problem is that it backs on to the riverside and as soon as we arrive they've gone," said Sgt Welburn.

"But one of our main priorities is dealing with nuisance youths."

Updated: 11:02 Saturday, March 03, 2001