A WESTON businessman has blamed ‘opportunistic kids’ after vandals ripped off 20 tiles from his shop and threw them onto the pavement below, causing hundreds of pounds of damage.

Roger Leaver, of Leaver Hardware store, said in the early hours of Sunday morning somebody climbed onto his shop roof causing �300 worth of damage.

Graffiti messages were also written on the wall at the back of the shop and he found a can of spray paint up on the roof where the tiles had been removed from.

Police cordoned off the pavement outside the store in Waterloo Street on Sunday for safety reasons until the tiles were secured. The debris has now been removed and the shop remains open.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Constabulary confirmed officers were called to the shop at 2.15am after two witnesses spotted three men on the roof. But by the time the police arrived there was no-one on the scene.

Mr Leaver said the tiles would be replaced this week and added that the financial cost was something the business could ill-afford at this time.

Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward by contacting their non-emergency 101 phone number.