Vandals have destroyed a Nativity display used to collect gifts for disadvantaged children.

Pot figurines of the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus, and The Three Kings were broken after the wooden display was tipped over on New Year's Eve - sending them crashing through a toughened glass window.

The scene, which has stood opposite Cleckheaton Town Hall in Bradford Road each Christmas for at least 20 years, belongs to Cleckheaton Rotary Club. It has a letter box where toys and gifts can be donated by members of the public.

Rotary club member John Mear, who maintains the display, said: "It's sad that people would do such a thing but I'm not entirely surprised.

"The display has become a landmark and people I've spoken to are saddened by what's happened.

"We don't know if we will be able to repair or replace the figures yet.

"They were repainted by pupils at Whitcliffe Mount School a couple of years ago and they did a really good job."

A lock was put on the display several years ago after a tramp was found sleeping inside it.

Last year the toughened glass window was cracked and a wooden panel was prized off in an attempt to steal gifts inside.

Gifts left in the Nativity scene this year were given to the Salvation Army, a women's refuge in Dewsbury, and several Cleckheaton children known personally to club members.

The most recent incident comes 12 months after club members were forced to fill in their wishing well, which stands in The Precinct, after vandals repeatedly tried to take coins donated for charity left inside.

Crime prevention officer for the Dewsbury Police division PC Colin Whiteley said the damage had not been reported to the police so far.

But he added: "It's a pathetic thing to do. It seems nothing can be left outside without being vandalised."

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