Schoolchildren bereft after fowl act of vandalism

SCHOOLCHILDREN in West Byfleet were left distraught after vandals wrecked a chicken coop, resulting in the disappearance of a prized pet.

Staff at West Byfleet Infant School in Camphill Road made the distressing discovery on Monday (October 10) when they arrived at work.

A specially-built cage, home to Lady Cluck Cluck, Sunny, Happy, and Dizzee Rascal, had been in place at the school for almost a year to allow the youngsters to watch the poultry as they developed from eggs to full-grown chickens.

The coop was tipped upside down at some point over the preceding weekend, according to staff, after being locked up on Friday (October 7), leaving headteacher Shirley James with the unenviable job of explaining what had happened to the school’s 200 pupils.

Year 2 class teacher Gemma Buckler, who is in charge of the chickens, said the youngsters were devastated when they heard about their feathered friends, to whom they had grown attached.

She said: “They were going to celebrate their first birthday on November 10, which is when they hatched last year.

“We’ve had chickens before and a fox got them, so we made a special coop for these ones.”

When teachers found the upturned coop, one of the chickens, Lady Cluck Cluck, was missing, and Miss Buckler believes she may have been a victim of a fox.

The remaining three chickens are safe and have temporarily been taken in by a parent of one of the pupils until money can be raised to pay for a new, more secure pen.