THE headteacher of a secondary school which was forced to close after vandals smashed 150 windows has thanked the community for its support.

Police are following up a number of new leads in a bid to catch the vandals who wreaked havoc around the school.

Tony Buckley was devastated after arriving at George Tomlinson School to find the building covered in shards of glass and water-logged because of the heavy rain.

Pupils at the school in Springfield Road, Kearsley, had to be sent home for the day as a team of glaziers arrived to carry out emergency repairs.

Despite having faced a tough week in the run-up to half term, Mr Buckley has been overwhelmed by the level of support from parents, staff, children and local businesses.

People have already sent in money and offered to organise fund-raising events to help to collect enough money to cover the £5,000 bill for repairs.

Mr Buckley said: "I really need to say a big thank you to everyone for helping us out this week.

"Lots of people have read about the vandalism in the Bolton Evening News and written to us or phoned to offer support.

"I also want to thank the police who are determined to catch the culprits. Uniformed officers have visited the school every day since the attack and I have been able to pass on information from pupils and they are following a number of leads."

The remainder of the repairs will be completed over half term before a hi-tech £15,000 CCTV network is installed at the school to deter future attacks.