Traders and residents have urged the police to beef-up patrols following a spate of vandalism.

The calls follow incidents in Wallingford town centre in which vandals have smashed shop windows, terrorised householders and lit a fire against the historic town hall.

Business leaders claimed shopkeepers were frustrated by continuing vandalism and the lack of a visible police presence.

They have also repeated calls for closed circuit television cameras to be installed in the town.

On Sunday (June 5) yobs caused thousands of pounds of damage after breaking plate-glass windows at the Waitrose supermarket and Walton Design store, both in St Martin's Street. Days earlier, arsonists torched a rubbish bin at the rear of the Grade One-listed town hall, causing about 300 damage to the building's paintwork.

The chairman of Wallingford Business 2000, Pat Hayward, called for a meeting with representatives of Thames Valley Police and South Oxfordshire District Council.

She said: "The retailers in this town are fed up. It is bad for business, bad for the image of Wallingford and has got to stop. Traders deserve more protection at weekends. Without CCTV we are vulnerable and need to have more security."

The clerk of Wallingford Town Council Andrew Rogers condemned the vandals. He said: "I am absolutely furious. I cannot understand the mentality of the morons who do this sort of thing."