Mindless vandals have caused almost £75,000 worth of damage at schools across Moray within the past four years.
Since the start of the 2014-15 school year, 437 counts of vandalism have been reported to the local authority – which is the equivalent of more than two incidents a week.
Bills of thousands of pounds are being racked up regularly, as the region’s 45 primary and eight secondary buildings are repeatedly targeted.
The costly repairs have been carried out at a time when the cash-strapped local authority is considering a series of “unpalatable” cuts in a desperate effort to claw back cash – such as closing public toilets, community halls and school libraries.
The spree of destruction includes countless smashed windows, reports of fire extinguishers being discharged, offensive graffiti being daubed on a nursery’s wall and the theft of lead from one school’s roof.
More than 10% of all the incidents took place at Pilmuir Primary School in Forres, including nine in the last six months alone.
Forres councillor, and local authority leader, George Alexander said it was especially galling that anti-social louts would choose to target primary schools so frequently.
He said: “Any act of vandalism, on anyone’s property, is damned annoying but it’s pretty terrible that folk should feel the need to vandalise a school of all things.”
Mr Alexander suggested that Pilmuir Primary being in a residential area, with easy access, could explain why it had been damaged so often.
The former teacher added: “I know that kids can get onto the roof there, and I suspect running along it would cause some damage.”
In March, the council had to pay out £285 to replace a lock which had items jammed in it at Pilmuir.
Two months later, it was faced with a bill of £640 after a shed in the grounds of its nursery had been so badly damaged it had to be dismantled and removed for the children’s safety.
And at Applegrove Primary in Forres, £579 had to be spent on repairing a perimeter fence which had been snapped in “several sections”.
And more than £2,000 was spent on replacing 164ft of mesh fencing at Hythehill Primary in Lossiemouth in October.
More than 40 cases have been recorded at Lossiemouth High School since the start of 2014-15.
Smashed toilets, kicked-in fire escapes and radiators pulled from the walls were among the counts of vandalism reported by staff in recent years.
The chairman of Lossiemouth Community Council, Mike Mulholland, said residents would take dim view of taxpayers’ money being spent as a result of the destructive behaviour.
He said: “With the council’s dire financial situation, this is more scandalous than ever now.
“But it is up to people to report any incidents and to keep an eye out for anyone vandalising public buildings.”
In total, Moray Council has faced bills of £74,425.71 over the last three and a half school years.
The police launched Operation Regard in 2015 as a way of cracking down on vandalism in Moray.
A report published the following year stated that Millbank Primary in Buckie was the worst-hit spot in the town.
Sergeant Krystle Ross said: “It’s being targeted and it’s upsetting not only for staff who are arriving in the morning to find damage, but also for pupils and parents who have to deal with the ongoing effects.”
Despite the success of the drive, officers have said that vandalism remains hard to police as they are often unable to catch culprits in the act.