Police in East Lothian are set to patrol the grounds of a historic visitor attraction after a spate of vandalism saw a number of 300-year-old windows shattered.
Staff at Newhailes House were left furious when thugs smashed several glass panes by launching stones at the 17th-century home on January 2.
Up to 25 panels were seriously damaged in the mindless attack, forcing the National Trust to fork out up to £1,500 in repairs.
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Bosses said a new CCTV system would also be required to ward off further incidents at a huge cost to the managing body.
However, Police Scotland will now have a presence around the gardens in an attempt to root out “antisocial behaviour” and prevent further damage to the stunning property.
Officers said enquiries remained ongoing to track down those responsible, but urged anyone with information to come forward.
The force added: “Due to recent and persistent anti-social behaviour and vandalism within the grounds of Newhailes House and Gardens officers from Musselburgh community policing team have been and will continue to patrol the grounds.
“Members of the public are urged to contact police with any information regarding criminality within the area.”
Images posted on social media showed a number of panes damaged around the home, however there was no significant damage or attempted entry inside.
Speaking after the incident, Claire Grant, operations manager for the National Trust said: "The historic Newhailes house and its grounds are a vitally important part of Scotland’s heritage as well as a much-loved local community asset.
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“It’s difficult to understand what goes through the minds of the people who did so much pointless damage to the property. To say the least, there must be something very wrong with them.
"The historic glass can be replaced but it is going to cost our charity over £1500 to do this. On top of this, we are also going to have use charitable funds to bear the costs of additional security and CCTV to try to deter further vandalism.
"This is money that could otherwise have been spent on conserving Scotland’s heritage for the good of all.”
