A GROUP of young girls were left devastated after a pit pony they created was vandalised only hours after they proudly unveiled it.

The girls, known as the Mining Lasses, of the Pittington Youth Club, near Durham, made the life-sized pony and tub in memory of the miners and their families of the area.

The sculpture was unveiled outside the village hall on Tuesday evening in a ceremony attended by Durham Mayor Councillor Bill Kellett and Councillor David Hall, who helped fund it.

Youth worker Pat Hill said: “The unveiling was absolutely fabulous. Lots of villagers came from elderly to the young.

“But then we discovered vandals had damaged it only hours later.

“They have broken off the tail and used a sharp implement to poke an eye and slash the leg. There are also two holes in its back.”

She added: “I only found out about it the following morning and went straight to the school and got the girls together and talked them through what happened.

“They were so upset. I said our two ward councillors who had funded it would pay for it to be repaired. The girls are determined to get it fixed and we’ll have another unveiling.”

Mrs Hill said youth club members would be mounting a search for the pony’s tail.

She said:”It is important that we find it, because it was specially fitted.”

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

Ten 15-year-old girls, who attend Belmont Community School, dedicated their spare time to a project led by Dave Hill, a former mining engineer running the The Durham Mining, History and Heritage Project.

As part of their research, the girls learned about the working and leisure time of mining families. They also saw pit ponies and went down in a cage during a visit to the National Coal Mining Museum in West Yorkshire.

They then began the hard work in Mr Hill’s workshop in Willingtonm where they prepared the pony’s body - filling in and sanding it down, before applying three undercoats of resin.

It took three weeks to get the black lacquer correct, while the hooves, mane and eyes had to be painted on.

The the big coal tub and wheels, while the rail sleepers were sanded and treated.

They decided to call it Kip. The girls involved in the project were: Shannon Pallister, Gabby Hammond, Rachel Turnbull, Lenny Finlay, Chloe Richards, Abigail Lawson, Leah Potts, Amy Neasham, Lauren Plant and Kayleight McIlwraith.

Durham Police confirmed a juvenile had agreed to attend the police station on Monday to be interviewed in connection with the incident.