A children's playground has been trashed by vandals for the third time in less than a year.

Youngsters aged between three and five and their parents raised £3,000 to build a playhouse at Donnington Playgroup, in Townsend Square, East Oxford.

But the playground has increasingly become the target of vandals, who have ripped up plants grown by the children, tipped over the playhouse and littered the playground with rubbish and takeaway food leftovers.

And last weekend, the roof was ripped off the playhouse and left in broken pieces on the floor.

Supervisor Christine Crowther said: "It's a mess. This is the third time it has happened in less than a year. The roof has been taken off and is in three pieces on the floor.

"Someone has been in there and they've trashed the gardens again. Last time it was bad but now they've completely wrecked the garden we've had to stop the children from using it."

Staff at the playgroup - which has been running for the past 35 years - believe the vandalism occurred on Sunday evening.

The attack was reported to police but no officer has been round to see the damage, Mrs Crowther added.

Last summer, hundreds of pounds worth of damage was caused when vandals broke in and ripped up flowers and pulled down a tree which had been donated to the group.

In December, parents and children arrived to find tomato plants which had been grown for a class project had been torn from their pots and used to spell an offensive phrase on the lawn.

In May their new £3,000 playhouse was tipped over and damaged.

Mrs Crowther said: "We have got someone in to see if they can repair it, but it all costs money. Then we have to clear up all the rubbish, kebab papers and boxes all over the garden.

"We have stopped the children using the garden at the moment. Some of the parents were close to tears when they saw it."

Anyone with information on the latest bout of vandalism should call Thames Valley Police on 08458 505505.