THORNBURY residents have rallied behind the Castle School after it was attacked by vandals over the weekend, with a campaign to fundraise for the clean-up.

More than 100 items of graffiti, containing offensive and vulgar language, were spray painted on the walls across the sites, resulting in the closure of the school on Monday when contractors removed the vandalism.

Mike Collins, a parent of one of the school’s pupils, set up a JustGiving page, aiming to raise £500 to help cover the costs, a target which has almost been reached in a matter of hours.

He said: “When I heard what had been put on the walls, I thought it was disgusting, beyond belief.

“I set up the page to try and help as a thank you to the school for their work, but wasn’t sure how well it would do."

Mr Collins said that he would leave the page to build up more funds for the school as long as people were willing to donate, and has considered nudging up the target.

“We have had some really generous donations," he added, "ranging from £2 to £50, and the way it has taken off is a testament to what the school means to our community and everyone should be congratulated for dipping a hand into their pocket.”

Donors and parents left messages of support and voiced their concern on the JustGiving page.

One wrote: “I hope this campaign helps Castle School feel supported by the community. They do so much for our children and the families of Thornbury and the surrounding villages. Please keep up the good work.”

Another said: “As a thank you to the staff for all they did to help cleaning up and all they do on a daily basis!”

A third donor said: “Great idea to set this up. I really want to help but feel powerless.

“Hope you smash the target and show the world that the idiots that did this are in the minority in this amazing town of ours.”

CSET chief executive Will Roberts praised the parents and the community for their support.

He said: "We are really touched that the community has responded so supportively to the vandalism at Castle.

"Although insurance will cover most of the cost of the damage, there will be some shortfall and thanks to the generosity of the community, this won't need to be funded by cuts to our education spend."

To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/thecastleschoolthornbury