AN appeal is being made to vandals to leave alone a horse riding centre for the disabled.

Persistent damage to £2,000- worth of fencing has meant that the Unicorn Centre, on Teesside, has not been able to use a field, first leased in the spring, until this month.

Centre manager Claire Jones is praying that this vandalism- free month is not just a seasonal lull.

The school is trying to raise £150,000 for an extension, and Ms Jones does not want vandalism to affect the project.

She said: "We can't afford to throw money away. Every penny counts. We just hope the message gets across to those responsible.''

Hardly a day has gone by without yobs registering their protest at the appearance of the fence, by smashing their way through panels to go motorcycle scrambling or shooting rabbits.

Staff live on the site at Hemlington, near Middlesbrough, largely in response to the vandal attacks.

Ms Jones said: "It became a cynical daily joke to go down to the field to see what new damage there was, but it was devastating to see the fencing destroyed again and again.

"The field could not be used for grazing for fear the ponies would escape. It is our disabled riders who are suffering as a result.

"We originally got the field so we could get a few extra horses to cut our waiting list, and give our riders experience of riding outside.

"What makes it worse is a lot of the disabled riders are local people.''