TWO schools and a playgroup in Harnham have been left with hefty repair bills and two cameras to replace after someone broke into four mobile classrooms at the Saxon Road site.

The culprit is thought to have been a homeless man, who bedded down for the night in one of the mobiles and wrote a note of apology, explaining he had nowhere to stay.

Puddleducks Community Playgroup and Harnham Junior School each had a classroom broken into and Harnham Infants' School had two break-ins.

The attacks follow vandalism at Puddleducks Playgroup last November.

This time, the intruder is believed to have struck between 4pm on Sunday and 7am on Monday.

They smashed the window in the door of the Puddleducks' building, drank coffee, ate biscuits and crisps, and stole a digital camera and coat.

Play leader Jo Thomson said: "Lots of cupboards were broken into and the locks on our filing cabinets were destroyed - the damage is about £600.

"We are a charity and rely on fundraising.

"We are insured, but when you claim they put up the premiums.

"Because we weren't allowed into the building until the police had finished, we couldn't telephone parents, so we had to meet them at the gate and tell them we would not be open that day - we had children sobbing.

"We had to wash and sterilise everything and opened again on Tuesday."

At Harnham Infants' School, the intruder pushed in the glass of one mobile, looked inside and took some CDs to another, breaking a window to get in.

"It looks like he stayed the night there, as he set out cushions, put a lamp on the floor and smoked while listening to the CDs," said headteacher Christine Smith.

"He wrote a note of apology saying he was hungry, had not eaten for three days and had nowhere to stay. About £2 and some sweets were stolen, as well as a digital camera worth £300 we had bought the week before.

"The governors came in to clean the classroom, which we really appreciated, and the glass firm came quickly to replace the glass.

"We were able to continue teaching by doubling up in the hall until the classrooms were ready to use again."

The damage caused is estimated at £450.

About £200 damage was done to a mobile at Harnham Junior School, where the intruder drank coffee and stole a small sum of money.

Police have appealed to anyone who was near the school site at the weekend and saw someone acting suspiciously to contact them, on 01722 411444.