A ‘MINDLESS' vandal took a Scout minibus off the road by kicking off its wing-mirror earlier this week.

CCTV footage captured in the early hours of Monday morning shows a man pausing before running at the 7th Darlington Sea Scouts’ bus and delivering a flying kick to the mirror.

Scout leader Anthony Gibson said his young charges will be left “working harder” to fundraise for as a result of the wanton act of vandalism.

Money raised to fund improvements at the 7th Darlington Sea Scouts’ campsite will now have to be used to pay for repairs to their bus, which carries Scout troops from across the area to and from a variety of events and activities.

Mr Gibson said the CCTV footage left him fuming, adding: “The Scouts have been fundraising for a while as the campsite needs structural work and now we’ve had to take £150 out to pay for this repair.

“They’re now going to have to work that little bit harder to get that money back.

“The Scouts are very protective of the bus, which they have named Barney, and it means a lot to them.

“This is all very frustrating and upsetting, it’s an appalling and wanton act of mindless vandalism – I cannot understand what goes through someone’s head to make them do something like this, especially when they know the bus belongs to children.

“It was no accident and for the sake of the five seconds that it makes them feel good about themselves, it has a huge impact.”

Mr Gibson is now appealing for anyone with information about the incident – which happened when the van was parked on Leafield Road in Darlington – to contact the police, who are understood to be investigating the matter.

A spokeswoman for Durham Constabulary said: “At 5.07pm on Tuesday 9, we received a report that the wing mirror of a mini bus had been kicked off. The vehicle was parked on Leafield Road, Darlington.

“Do you recognise the men in the CCTV? Please call Durham Police on 101 if so.”