VANDALS stole a bulldozer and demolished a sewage pumping station.

The bulldozer was returned to a nearby building site after the small pumping house at Cowpen Bewley, near Billingham, Teesside, was destroyed.

The vandals struck overnight on Wednesday and Northumbrian Water workers were alerted to the damage on Thursday morning.

The station handles sewage from 20 houses and workers had to send tankers to transport hundreds of thousands of litres of sewage elsewhere.

The underground pump was not damaged but a temporary control panel had to be installed before it could be operated again.

There was no major damage to the environment.

A spokesman for Northumbrian Water said: "We responded quickly as soon as we became aware of the problem. It was a highly irresponsible act by whoever did this. If not for the prompt action of our staff, it could have caused major environmental damage. As it was, we managed to have the pump back in working order within 24 hours."

A new pumping house and control panel will be installed in the coming months.

Cleveland Police appealed for anyone with information to call them on (01642) 302626.