An academy has been forced to apologise after a group of its students were caught vandalising a bus shelter.

Pictures of the students from Cornwallis Academy, Maidstone, were captured yesterday afternoon by a passer-by, who wishes to remain anonymous.

The pictures show the pupils kicking and pulling at mesh on a bus stop on Linton Hill.

The teens appear intent on causing damage to the Maidstone Borough Council-owned shelter, which is close to the crossroads with Heath Road.

Police confirmed that no report of criminal damage had been made to them.

Isabelle Linney-Drouet, Headteacher at the Hubbards Lane school, said: "Please accept my sincere apologies for the poor behaviour of three of our students.

"I appreciate their unacceptable actions have inconvenienced our local community and assure you we are taking this matter very seriously.

"We are extremely disappointed by their behaviour and thanks to the evidence provided, we have been able to identify those involved and apply severe sanctions.

"The actions of those few students do not reflect the high standards shown by the majority of our students.

"Any student who behaves in an unacceptable manner will be held accountable and dealt with according to our behaviour policy."

Maidstone Borough Council confirmed that the shelter is maintained by them, and that repairs will be made to the shelter in due course.