Vandals Strike Again

The battle continues..... Many of you will know the trouble that our HQ, Kerswell Hall, has gone through at the hands of a few local yobs over the years. We have our property damaged or stolen, our minibus has had its tyre slashed on numerous occasions and we have lost count of the amount of times we have had to replace broken windows. Not to mention that our equipment hut and two caravans were burnt down, and we had a failed arson attempt on the entire building. The cost to the group has run into thousands of pounds, our insurance policy has almost tripled after the arson attack and we find we are struggling to make ends meet - all because of a handful of small minded kids - the same age as our Explorers, but with no lives and certainly no respect for anything or anyone. Early last year we had a breakthrough, something that would end this battle for good. A local charitable trust gave us a grant for £7000 to go with the £3000 we already had to get some security fencing. This was still not enough to complete the job - we needed about £15000, but it would allow us to made a start. All we needed was the planning permission and away we went. It is now over a year later, we still do not have that permission - why? - because a few neighbours have objected, complaining that it will spoil their view. Well quite frankly, tough! That excuse is total b*llocks and they know it - the only reason they are objecting is because our grounds make an ideal place for their children to come and play - the amount of garden backing onto our land that have gates built into their fences is unbelievable! So, why am I writing this now when the problem has been going on for so long? Simple really. Winter was good, the weather was cold and the little sh*ts that cause all the damage were indoors keeping warm. Two weeks ago was half term, and guess what - they're back, and with a vengeance this time. This morning I was phoned up by the Group Scout Leader and asked to come down with my camera to take some photos of the damage that had been caused. What started as another routine "what have they been up to now" ended up with armed police being called when we found a den they had built containing firearms. We did not know whether they were real or replicas (they turned out to be replicas), but we were not taking the chance. Below are the photos of the damage that has been caused over the last couple of weeks. If you are one of the residents who has objected to us putting up our security fencing then I would like to thank you now, as this could be the straw that broke the camels back - our group might be forced to close as we can no longer afford to repair the damage. If the group does close I can guarantee that there will be a couple of blocks of flats built within a year. At the moment the leadership team are in a state of dispair, we carry on because we love scouting, we carry on because we have a great bunch of kids - but there is only so much we can do. I want to run an Explorer Unit, not spend all my time cleaning up the mess after the local yobs have been around, all because a few selfish residents don't want us to have a security fence. I would like to write down exactly what I think of you, but that wouldn't be very nice now would it!

Failed attempt to burn down our building.	We had CCTV - until they smashed them all!	Not strong enough to hold their weight as they tried to get onto the roof.	The vandals smashed a whole in the brick wall to get into the garage!
Typical scrawl that can be seen everywhere.	There was nothing wrong with this minibus two weeks ago!	All the windows have been smashed!	The idiots couldn't even burn it!
A new use for a pioneering pole.	The windscreen has been kicked clean out.	Their "intelligent" comments.	And this is what we are up against.
We know who you are - but the police can't do anything!	Shame they didn't get fried.	At over £40 a time, this hurts!	These were broken by a neighbour with his air rifle.
Upstairs / Downstairs - they don't care.	Another £40 gone!	They really tried to get in here.	They brought their own snooker balls to do this one!
If we replace it they will only do it again!	A den they had built in the roof - this is where we found the guns.