A COMMUNITY centre hit by vandals is facing closure.

Derrick Atlay, chairman of Orchard Park Community Centre, in Badger Paddock, Huntington, York, said the centre may have to close after windows were smashed three times in only ten days.

Mr Atlay described the vandalism as "soul destroying", and said this year had been the worst since the centre opened 15 years ago.

He estimated it would cost £200 to repair the latest damage, and said the total repair bill since the centre opened was about £12,000.

"We have this problem every summer," he said. "If it goes on like this, we will have to close the place down. It's that bad."

The centre and its grounds are used every day by a playgroup for under-fives, by a church group on Sundays and Wednesdays, for bowling on Thursdays, and by a pensioners' group on Friday afternoons.

Mr Atlay said: "It only takes a few people to wreck a few windows, but it's preventing a lot of people enjoying using the building and the grounds.