Lloyd entered the building last Sunday morning to discover a large window in a side office smashed and shards of glass strewn across the office.

Out the back of the building, which was previously a car dealership, resembles a war zone with large chunks of brick, rocks and glass littering the floor from the side windows that have also been smashed.

Lloyd’s concern is that this type of vandalism is not taken seriously enough and that the community should band together, take hold of the issue and deal with it. As the gateway to Wingham, the building is one of the first sights when driving into town, and does not reflect a pretty picture to residents and visitors.

He would like to see these “urban terrorists” brought to justice. This would mean the people responsible recompense the damage they have done in a financial way, which he thinks would hit them hardest. The cost of replacing glass is significant for owners of the building. A 24 hour police presence would also be ideal to halt regular vandalism occurring in Wingham.

Manning Alliance has been occupying the building over the past few months and have been in the midst of completing renovations, preparing the building to be an information hub for coal seam gas mining. It aims to bring bus loads of people to the centre to present information on the mining process and its effects. The flow-on effect of groups of people visiting Wingham is a positive for local business. “If people have all the information, they can make their minds up for themselves,” Lloyd said. The group was hoping to have the centre open in a few weeks but this will be delayed due to the recent attack.

All work completed has been done in the members’ own time and with money from their own pocket. Continual incidences of vandalism have been described by Lloyd as gut wrenching.

“We are only a small group and are self funded. Watching this happen is very difficult for us,” Lloyd said.

The building has been donated to the group by the building’s owner Bryce Hawkins. Similar concerns were voiced by Mr Hawkins in an article that was published in the Wingham Chronicle in March. This followed a string of similar cases of vandalism and theft to businesses in the CBD area.