AN ENGINEERING boss is threatening to pull out of Shildon, with the loss of 50 jobs, because he is fed up with young vandals targeting his factory.

Brian Burn, managing director at Blue Diamond Machine Tools, on the Dabble Duck Estate, Shildon, came back from a bank holiday break to find that hooligans had been on a wrecking spree on his factory roof.

They kicked in dozens of wired glass windows and threw stones through his office window.

Mr Burn says he is furious enough to consider quitting the plant, which he started in 1984.

He said: "In the last month they must have caused the best part of £4,000 worth of damage.

"Now police tell me the only way to protect the building is to spend another £2,500 putting up a fence to keep them out.

"We have brought jobs and money into Shildon, but it seems pointless to invest more money and take the risk of getting vandalised."

Mr Burn thinks the culprits could have been high on drink or drugs.

He is angry that no-one in the area called the police to notify them of the vandal attack.

"There are people living nearby who must have seen what was going on," he said.

"I can't blame them for not tackling them, but they could have made a phone call.

"Whoever did this was here for some time. They brought a frame to climb up on to the building so they came prepared."

Inspector Les Hardy, of Newton Aycliffe police, said Shildon beat officers PC Martin Slater and PC Claire Addison were encouraging people living near the factory to report any problems.

He said: "We can't be there all the time, but people in the area can help us.

"We spend a lot of time working with other agencies to channel the energies of these young people into positive actions. Unfortunately, there is no short-term fix, but in the long term if we can divert them from these sort of actions we will achieve a better result."