OUR report of the conviction of the teenagers responsible for the fire which destroyed a primary school at Sedgefield will gladden the hearts of all those depressed by the modern-day incidence of seemingly mindless vandalism.

The young idiots who razed the building to the ground were gratifyingly brought to justice by the village's community spirit. The outrage villagers felt about the destruction of a community asset resulted in a steady stream of information to the police, information which directly led to the youths' conviction.

That is as it should be, one might think, but any police officer will tell you these days they cannot assume the public will come forward with information. Such is the climate of fear and intimidation in some communities, the flow of information about crime is often pitiful.

And then there is the widespread feeling that the public buildings and facilities which are so often the vandals' targets do not belong to the community. There is no sense of public ownership which provokes the outrage which was clearly so effective in Sedgefield.

That sense of community spirit is one of the most effective weapons against crime of this nature and needs to be fostered. Pride and ownership of the community's assets should be such that the level of outrage over incidents like the Sedgefield arson attack is also evident when the target is less obvious and valued.