Kelly Dundas, from Drage Close, said daughter Tiffany was distraught after discovering her bike with slashed tyres and dented wheels after she left it chained to a fence near Waterworks Lane in the town on Saturday evening.

Tiffany was only away from the bike for about 30 minutes, sometime between 7pm and 8pm, but returned to find that not only had the bike been stamped on and vandalised, but that the seat had also been stolen and the chain pulled off.

The bike was relatively new, having been bought for Tiffany at Christmas.

Miss Dundas said Tiffany was heartbroken after discovering the state the bike had been left in.

She added: “I don’t know whether someone has seen the bike and just decided to destroy it or whether they have tried to steal it and not been able to get through the chain then just decided to try to destroy it instead.

“Tiffany was crying and really upset when she found the bike.

“She couldn’t really do anything except unlock it and wheel it home.

“We tried to fix it the best we could because I thought we could replace the saddle and tyres but then we realised how badly the wheels were damaged.”

Miss Dundas said Tiffany normally uses her bike to cycle to and from Wycliffe Primary School.

She added: “It is obviously a bike belonging to a young girl because it is quite small and pink.

“That’s almost the thing that angers me the most because you wonder what things are coming to.

“I really hope whoever did this sleeps well tonight, knowing they have done this to a little girl’s bike and her means of getting to and from school.”

Miss Dundas said she had not reported the crime to the police because she did not believe that if the vandals were caught they would be punished.