Some of the destruction was the life’s work of the members of the model railway club (Picture: SWNS)

The parents of three drunk and ‘mindless’ youths have been told they will have to pay for some of the damage their sons did to a £30,000 exhibition by the Market Deeping Model Railway Club.

The teenagers, who cannot be named, got drunk on vodka on a ‘pre-exam night out’ before going on a rampage at 4am, destroying 30 years of work.

Some members said they had seen their ‘life’s work’ destroyed by the boys in the vandalism on May 18.

The vandals were found hiding in the toilets of Stamford Welland Academy in Stamford, Lincolnshire, after setting off an alarm.

They had decided to go into the gym where the displays had been set up to play football.

Lincoln Youth Court was told the youths then deliberately pushed tables over and threw parts of displays at the wall in what they themselves described as an act of ‘stupidity’.

Sorry, this video is no longer available.

Three of the four boys have appeared in court and been sentenced for the destruction (Picture: SWNS)

They were drunk on vodka and decided to go into the gym to play football at 4am (Picture: SWNS)

At court yesterday, the four boys admitted criminal damage.

Three of the youths were handed 12-month referral orders and their parents were also ordered to pay £500 in compensation.

A fourth boy, who also appeared in court, was told he would be sentenced on September 2.

38 areas added to coronavirus 'watch list' including the whole of London

More than £107,000 has been raised by members of the public to repair the exhibition.

Singer Sir Rod Stewart – a long-standing model rail enthusiast – personally donated £10,000 to the club after hearing about the vandalism.

At the sentencing hearing, Chairman of the bench of magistrates, John Lock, told the youths: ‘In nearly 20 years on the bench, I cannot recall such a case as this, of mindless, wanton destruction. It beggars belief.

‘In the dead of night, when people are in their beds in the main, you were out playing football, which is extraordinary at that time of night.

Members of the Market Deeping Model Railway Club were left devastated by the destruction (Picture: Albanpix)

Many exhibits featured dozens of tiny, hand-finished components, and had taken hours of preparation (Picture: PA)

Peter Davis said he and other collectors were left in tears at seeing the destruction (Picture: SWNS)

The boys’ parents have been ordered to pay £1,500 because the boys don’t have incomes (Picture: PA)

‘You came across the displays and models, all of you… and not content with kicking a ball, you then went on a rampage. The mindlessness comes shining through.’

Despite the damage caused, the magistrates decided not to send the boys to custody.

Lockdown 'could kill 75,000' due to cancelled treatments and missed diagnoses

Mr Lock continued: ‘It would not be right to put you into custody. You have all got good futures and it is right that you make best use of them.

‘There will be a referral order. It will last for 12 months, which is the longest you can make an order for – there would be a wish that you could make it longer, but you can’t.

‘Nothing can compensate for what you did that night’.

Opening the case against the youths, prosecutor Shelley Wilson said the four boys had made admissions in interviews about the damage.

A fourth boy will be sentenced at the beginning of September for his part in the destruction (Picture: SWNS)

Very little of the work could be saved after the boys smashed some of the displays beyond recognition (Picture: SWNS)

Speaking of one of the boys, Ms Wilson said: ‘He said he went in to play football and to sleep.

‘They saw the displays but continued to play. He claimed (the damage) was accidental.

Students in coronavirus-hit halls 'feel like prisoners' weeks into first term

‘He then said he pushed over a few displays and caused some damage, as did the others.’

The court heard how one model railway enthusiast from St Neots Model Railway Club, John Kneeshaw, who had contributed to the exhibition, had been on the receiving end of £15,000 worth of damage.

One of Mr Kneeshaw’s displays, which was around 20ft long, 12ft deep and 6ft wide, was valued at around £5,000 – with all of his models taking 20-25 years to build in what he described as a ‘labour of love’.

Singer Sir Rod Stewart – a long-standing model rail enthusiast – personally donated £10,000 to the club after hearing about the vandalism (Picture: PA)

Reading a statement by Mr Kneeshaw to the court, Ms Wilson said: ‘You can’t just buy them, they are all made by me and are unique.

‘I am in total shock as to what has happened and why. The cost emotionally is very high – this is years of work and I do not understand why anyone would want to do this.

‘It is truly devastating. It had been systematically destroyed by whoever had done it – the damage is not repairable or replaceable.’

One of the boys’ defence solicitors, Lynford Fuller, said they were ‘in drink’, which may have ‘impaired their judgment’.

The youths apologised for their behaviour, while their parents said they were ‘ashamed’ and ‘disappointed’.