STAFF and pupils of a Wrexham infant school have been left devastated after windows were damaged by a mystery sharpshooter - and the school may now have to use money raised for its Christmas festivities to pay for repairs.

A pensioner has also been injured in the latest of a spate of potentially fatal shootings in the town.

On Monday, December 1, pupils and teachers at Penycae Infant School were shocked to find broken glass scattered across the floor and more than a dozen windows damaged by steel ball-bearings fired from either a gun or a catapult.

Headteacher Lynda Thomas said windows in her office, the secretary's office,the staff room and nursery toilets had all been damaged in the attack which is thought to have happened over the weekend.

She said: 'No-one was injured, and lessons continued as normal. This is a lovely glass-fronted school but the damage was terrible.

'The children were very upset. They have been coming into school asking what has happened. It's just awful, a case of pure vandalism.'

She added: 'This will be costly to the school. I will have to find the money for repairs from somewhere. The insurance will cover some of the costs but there's nothing in the budget to cover the rest, so I might have to take it out of the money raised for our Christmas festivities. It's not fair on the children.

'The windows that were damaged were on the north side, and thankfully, the classrooms are situated on the south side. Luckily, no-one was hurt, which is the main thing.' In a separate incident just a few days earlier, a pensioner was hit in the head by a ball-bearing as he was getting back into his car outside the Plough Inn pub in Gresford.

Police and forensic scientists cordoned off the car park and scoured the area after the incident, which occurred at 1pm on Friday, November 28.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that the man only suffered a slight graze to the head and was able to walk home to alert the authorities.

The incidents are the latest of a string of random attacks on members of the public and businesses in the Wrexham area. As the Mail revealed two weeks ago, police were called in after the attacker fired steel ball-bearings at the Black Lion pub in Rhostyllen, before targeting shops and homes in the Rhos area.

Properties in Gresford, Pen y Bryn and Acrefair have also been damaged by the projectiles.

It's still unknown whether the ball-bearings are being fired from a gun or a catapult, but Wrexham detective constable Andy Jessop says they are treating the attacks very seriously.

He said: 'These nasty incidents could have been a lot worse. The attacks have been completely random. I don't think there is a reason - no-one or no property has been particularly targeted - and the attacks seem completely senseless.' Police have urged anyone with information about the attacks to contact them on (01978) 294524.