Mindless vandals have defaced a war memorial plaque and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to a village hall, leaving a community devastated.

The culprits kicked their way into Darnhall Village Hall near Winsford and broke into a storage cupboard, splattering craft paint and obscenities all over the main hall floor and walls, before using a floor brush to paint over a wooden war memorial plaque.

The vandals then ransacked the kitchen, spreading tea, coffee and sugar all over the floor and mixed cooking oil with bleach to make the hall floor resemble a ‘skating ring’.

'Obscenities and grafitti all over the walls'

Darnhall parish clerk Sue Langley said the community has been left heartbroken after the incident which happened last Tuesday (August 8).

“I just can’t believe that someone would do this,” she said. “There are obscenities and graffiti all over the walls with the words ‘Unlucky WYF’ which we believe stands for Wharton Youth Firm.

“Fire extinguishers were set off and the smell in the hall is terrible. Craft items are all over the floor and dancers shoes are all covered in paint - these are items that were donated or have had money raised to buy them and now they’re all ruined."

"We are so sorry to let people down"

Sue added: “We have had to cancel all bookings for the next few weeks while we sort the mess out - we are so sorry to let people down.

“The building belongs to the Darnhall Estate and is leased to Darnhall Parish Council and a fundraising group, of which I am part, spend hours coming up with fundraising ideas so the hall can be maintained and kept up to date, so to see all our efforts damaged in one night is so heart destroying.

“When our booking clerk discovered the damage to the hall she broke down in tears. We are now waiting for the loss adjusters to come out then we can make a start to put our beloved hall back together again.”