VANDALS have caused up to £30,000 in attacks on a Lepton church.

Hooligans have also smashed windows at a landmark shop in the village.

The vandals hurled stones through a large painted glass Victorian window at Lepton Parish Church on Green Balk Lane last Friday night.

The next night they returned and threw another stone through the imposing window next to it.

The old windows have been badly damaged and could cost as much as £30,000 to repair.

The windows featured Jesus surrounded by children under the theme Suffer Little Children To Come Unto Me.

The vicar, the Rev Graham Whitcroft, said the stones landed in an area where the font used to be, but fortunately it is now elsewhere in the church.

He said: "Problems have been growing in the area over the last five or six years and there has been lots of vandalism elsewhere in the village.

"The windows are wonderful pieces of work and date back to Victorian times.

"We are waiting to find out exactly how much they will cost to repair and the timescale for them to be restored. It will be a specialist job."

Vandals last week carried out repeated attacks on The Antique Shop on Wakefield Road in Lepton.

Four windows were put through by hooligans throwing bricks and a tree trunk.

The repair bill is expected to run into hundreds of pounds.

Shop owner June Millington said: "We are absolutely sick of this vandalism and there was also an attempted break-in at the shop in late summer.

"It took the police three weeks to respond to that and when the scenes of crime eventually came they said there was no point dabbing for fingerprints so long after the crime.

"We believe the vandals are teenagers, but nobody seems to care."

Sgt Nicola Brown, of Huddersfield Neighbourhood Policing Team, said officers were carrying out patrols in the Lepton area to reassure people.

She urged anyone with information about who is responsible for the vandal attacks to come forward with their names.

She said: "Even if we do not have enough evidence to prosecute, we can take action in partnership with Kirklees Anti-Social Behaviour Unit."

Contact Moldgreen police station on 01484 436724, Kirklees Anti-Social Behaviour Unit on 01484 416764 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.