A PIT pony sculpture which was vandalised within hours of being unveiled has been restored to its former glory and is once again taking pride of place in the heart of a village.

A group of young girls, known as the Mining Lasses, of the Pittington Youth Club, near Durham, were devastated after youths wrecked the life-sized pony outside the village community centre last June.

They broke off the tail and used a sharp implement to poke an eye and slash the leg. There were also two holes in its back.

Ten girls, who attend Belmont Community School, had dedicated their spare time to the project led by Dave Hill, a former mining engineer running the The Durham Mining, History and Heritage Project.

His wife, voluntary youth worker Pat Hill, said: “We were very upset but determined to have it restored.

“The repair was much more difficult than we thought it would be, because the was tail was fitted before the two pieces of the pony was put together and we had to have that specially made.”

Two of the original mining lasses, Rachel Turnbull and Lauren Plant. were chosen to carry out the repairs.

Lauren, 14, said: “What happened was obviously devastating, but I was so happy when Pat said we were going to fix it.

“It meant we were going to get the chance to show our hard work again and to show the community that we weren’t going to be brought down by what they did.

“We worked hard on it, with all our energy, and am so happy with how it turned out. We feel so proud.”

The project was launched after lead youth worker Keely Fingleton secured funding from the neighbourhood budgets of councillors Bill Kellett and David Hall.

Durham Mayor, Cllr Kellett, who visited the site to see result, said: “It is a shame what happened. The statue has actually been added to and improved.”

The other Mining Lasses were Shannon Pallister, Gabby Hammond, Lennie Finlay, Chloe Richards, Abigail Lawson, Leah Potts, Amy Neasham and Kayleigh McWraith.

Durham Police spoke to two youths in connection with the incident, one of whom payed £350 toward the repairs. The sculpture is now monitored by CCTV cameras.

Thomas Hardy Coal of Belmont, Durham, has been thanked for providing coal for the tub.