Residents of Eye have been left devastated after vandals broke into their town hall yesterday, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to four 19th century paintings.
The incident occurred just days before the town hall was due to reopen following major renovation work.
Caroline Byles, chair of the town hall committee at Eye Town Council, said it was a real blow to the team.
Ms Byles said: “It really is very sad. We had that really happy event planned and then last night we had somebody break into the town hall building,
“They haven’t taken anything either – they have just vandalised four really lovely paintings.
“It is going to cost a few thousand pounds to repair those paintings.”
She added that it would also be a huge cost to the people of Eye, as the cost of repairing the paintings – and the increase in insurance premiums – will come directly out of the council’s precept.
However Ms Byles said that the vandals wouldn’t ruin the big re-opening, due to take place on Wednesday morning.
The renovation done to the town hall has cost in the region of £170,000 to date.
A spokesperson for Suffolk Constabulary said police are currently in the process of investigating the incident.
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