VANDALS have hit an outdoor educational trail - the first of its kind in Wales - before it is even finished.

The trail, which starts and ends at the visitor centre at Cwmcarn Forest Drive, aims to help schoolchildren with maths.

It includes an 8ft xylophone and a 6ft bear holding a ruler for children to measure their height, and was designed in conjunction with five local schools.

Now some parts of the trail, which was funded through a £8,000 grant from the Forest Education Initiative and is due to be officially launched in October, have been damaged. Simon Harry, (pictured) education ranger with Forest Enterprise, who is based at the Forest Drive, said: "It is disappointing that we are doing things for the local community and the children of the area and some people find they have to destroy it."

A wooden plinth designed by local sculptor John Hobbs, which helps children measure the height of surrounding hills, has been damaged.

"Somebody has used a knife to scratch names on to it," said Mr Harry. "And we have a geo-board, and someone has taken two of the posts from it. They must have used a chainsaw because the cut was so clean.

"It is not really the cost but the time - because the posts are concreted in, it took half a day to redo it. But there will come a point when we haven't got the money to replace these things."

Mr Harry said the trail was already attracting interest from around the country, with representatives of the Forestry Commission in Scotland due to visit to see it. "With the amount of interest we have had from schools, it is going to be a success," he said. "But to be a success it needs to be complete."

Now Mr Harry is urging local people who visit the area to keep an eye on the trail in a bid to protect it from further vandalism.