Teachers and pupils at a special school in Weymouth are 'overwhelmed' by the community's response following a break-in.

As reported, Westfield Arts College on Littlemoor Road was broken into in April - with a host of equipment stolen and the garden vandalised.

Caroline Hales from the college, said since the appeal the she and the pupils have been overwhelmed by donations from generous businesses and members of the public and therefore they wanted to issue a thank you.

The vandals who targeted the school last month stole a wheelbarrow and hose as well as plants from the greenhouse - all of which are used by the pupils as part of their Young Enterprise Scheme.

A number of vegetables that the pupils had been growing in their greenhouse were also pulled out of the ground.

Ms Hales said: "Westfield is back up and running. We were overwhelmed by the response from members of the public and businesses. We have had the wheelbarrow, hose and plants replaced.

In fact, we now have more wheelbarrows and hoses than we started with. We have now been able to replace all our old wheelbarrows and hoses with new ones due to the generosity. The sixth form car wash is also back up and running, so smiles all round.

"We have plants galore, which will mean we will be able to have a great plant sale this year to bring in much-needed funds.

"We had to put up a new fence and gate which was damaged in the break-in. It’s a sad sign of the times that we have had to do this."

Businesses the school would like to thank include: Goulds Garden Centre for a hose and plants; Wessex Ground Services for a wheelbarrow and tools; the Rotary Club for supplying wood for the new gate; Dorchester Timber for supplying wood.

Members of the public the school also wanted to thank include: Mr and Mrs Dunn, Ms Scott, Miss Hodges, Dave Birchall, John Tomblin, Maureen Perkins, Sue Wells, Chris Stuttard, Mr and Mrs Letley and Mrs Farmer for a host of equipment and accessories.

The Smart Family also decided to donate a wheelbarrow, a hose and plants. Elliott Smart was a former student at Westfield and the family felt that they had to help.

Ms Hales added: "We at Westfield can’t thank people enough for their generosity."