VANDALS who took a pickaxe and shovel to a nature conservation area may have suffocated baby badgers in their setts.

Conservation volunteers were horrified to find holes leading to the badgers’ underground homes on land beside Hayle Mill Road, Tovil, Maidstone, had been filled in – trapping the adult badgers and their young.

Bryn Cornwell, chairman of the Valley Conservation Society, which owns the land where the badgers live, said: “They breed the youngsters and they stay underground for six to eight weeks, so there is a possibility they could suffocate the young. They are a protected species.”

Two weeks ago, Mr Cornwell found two teenagers in the area with a shovel and a pickaxe. He has since spoken to their parents who said they would deal with it and asked him not to contact the police.

It is just one of a catalogue of incidents in the area in recent weeks, including residents’ windows being broken.

Mr Cornwell said: “There is one old couple who are terrified. They’ve been out before and spoken to them, and the kids give them so much abuse.”

The Loose Stream, which flows through the area, has been deliberately blocked with debris.

Mr Cornwell said: “Vandals block up the grating with anything they can find.

“Last Tuesday I took out a 6ft door. There is a lovely 8ft high waterfall and they take glee in blocking it and throwing things in it.”

A fire has also been lit, a wall broken down, holes dug and carefully gathered branches scattered all over the woodland floor.

Volunteers this week put up a fence with notices warning the area is private land, set aside for wildlife. The cost of between £300 and £400 is to be paid out of membership funds.

Mr Cornwell said: “We are not a charity. We are a voluntary organisation. I know the fence won’t stop them, but at least there will be something to say it’s private land.

“We’ve got no problem with people walking through the countryside, but they should appreciate what they’ve got, rather than destroying it.”