STAFF and pupils at a Lowestoft middle school said they were 'mortified' this week after discovering that their eco haven had been trashed by vandals.Thugs destroyed more than seven months of hard work as equipment, plants, fruit, flowers and vegetables that had been carefully cultivated and tended by the youngsters were all consigned to the compost bin.

STAFF and pupils at a Lowestoft middle school said they were 'mortified' this week after discovering that their eco haven had been trashed by vandals.

Thugs destroyed more than seven months of hard work as equipment, plants, fruit, flowers and vegetables that had been carefully cultivated and tended by the youngsters were all consigned to the compost bin.

The garden in the grounds of Foxborough Middle School was wrecked on Sunday afternoon and stones were thrown at windows.

Teachers and students arrived at the school in Foxborough Road on Monday to find that the haven, which had been placed at the front of the school for visitors to see, had been wrecked.

The eco-school team of 15 enthusiastic gardeners had watched over the garden, nurturing and harvesting the plants for months and they'd even taken seeds home with them over the half term holidays to give even more tender loving care.

So much so that they were starting to reap the rewards of their efforts, as some tomatoes and beans were picked earlier this month and used in the school kitchen for meals as their aims of self sufficiency became a reality.

'The students are absolutely mortified - they've been left with nothing as everything was pulled up and vandalised,' eco-school co- ordinator Jerildine Lines said.

'It wasn't just breaking a few stems but they uprooted every single sunflower and snapped them into two bits. All the tomatoes were picked and then stood upon. We have been growing these plants since before March, most of them were grown from seed and now they are all dead,' she said.

'The team are so saddened by what has happened and they feel so let down. They have said 'why did they do it Miss?' and I can't answer them. What do you say when a group of children have tirelessly grown plants from seed, watched over them, nurtured them and harvested some of the produce to eat, to then have them entirely destroyed?' she added.

Among the items that were trashed were tomatoes, radishes, peppers, nasturtiums, sweet peas, runner beans, sunflowers and climbing beans.

But there was a ray of light this week as Asda donated money and a box of stationery to the school after they heard of the vandalism.

And a police spokesman said yesterday that inquiries were continuing.

'We were contacted this week reporting that three males had come onto the middle school site on Sunday afternoon and had dug up the garden and stones were thrown at windows, breaking several,' police spokesman Anne-Marie Breach said.

Information about the damage should be directed to Lowestoft police on 01986 835300.