Vandals caused up to £5,000 of damage at a Bicester sports pavilion.

The group broke in through the roof of the changing room in Sunderland Drive, wrecked the interior, and wrote on the walls with mud on Wednesday night.

Anne Wilson, town clerk at Bicester Town Council, which owns the building, said: "It was a mess. There is a 2sq ft hole in the roof where they got through.

"We spent a lot of money making it vandal-proof and the only way to get in was the roof. It is a very basic pavilion and everyone knows there is nothing inside.

"It is a shame because the people who use it are the local children of the area."

The changing room is used by hundreds of football players every weekend during the season and is the home of Highfield Juniors Football Team.

Team manager Bran Govorusa said: "It is a right mess. It is just mindless vandalism.

"You try to do a bit for the kids and this is what you get in return. I just don't know why they do it."

Bicester Town Council have boarded up the site and hope to carry out repairs as soon as possible.

Vandals have struck at Bicester Town Football Club, Oxford Road, several times in the past few years causing thousands of pounds of damage.