VANDALS have chopped down more than 20 12-year-old trees at a Burnley school.

Teachers, children and the caretaker at Rosehill Junior School were shocked when they found the trees sawn through.

Deputy head Richard Lawson said: "When we got the all-weather pitch at the school, we decided to start a small tree nursery and the local council provided some trees.

"One of the parents volunteered to dig all the holes for them and we planted a mixture of oak, willow and larch.

"There were about 20 to 30 trees in the copse, now there are only five.

"A lot of time had been spent on nurturing the trees and the children had enjoyed seeing them grow."

Why the trees were felled is unclear because the vandals left the tree tops next to the stumps.

The school has appealed to anyone with information about the incident to contact Burnley police on 01282 425001.

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