Canon Slade School spends thousands on fence after vandalism

The fence, which was installed two years ago, was a response to incidents like the use of off-road bikes on a field at the rear of the secondary school on Bradshaw Brow.

The secondary school and sixth form received support in the form of the government's Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) to tackle anti-social behaviour on the site of which other examples ranged from the abuse of alcohol or drugs to littering.

But last week GMP's Bolton North Neighbourhood Team said the fence was damaged and a panel was discarded in a post on social media.

The post on social media said: "The Bolton North Neighbourhood Team are appealing for information following a criminal damage in Hall i' th' Wood. A fence erected by a local school [Canon Slade] to safeguard the children on the field at the top of Green Way has been damaged and a panel has been discarded. We now appealing for information as to who was responsible for this criminal damage."

The headteacher, Karen Sudworth, revealed this is not the first instance of this incident.

The school is spending thousands of pounds a year on repairing and replacing the fence.

Ms Sudworth said: "Unfortunately, frequently, the fence around the field over the railway line is damaged through vandalism and it often needs repairing or replacing which costs the school thousands of pounds a year."

Bolton's Canon Slade School, a part of The Bishop Fraser Trust, is considered one of the borough's best although it received a rating of 'requires improvement' in an inspection last year. 

The school complained about the outcome and called for another inspection but it was refused this year.

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 or the LiveChat on gmp.police.uk.

They can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.