A charity which educates vulnerable young people is raising £700 to restore its “vital” minibus after vandals stripped it for parts.

The Far Academy, based on the John Wilson estate in Whitstable, is a skateboard-building and design school - aiming to provide an innovative teaching style for young people, re-engaging them with the education system while equipping them with qualifications and skills.

But a fortnight ago, CEO Brent Lewis arrived to find the charity’s only minibus had been targeted by vandals.

Mr Lewis, 42, said: “Someone cut the exhaust and catalytic converter. We have heard it’s happening a lot due to the precious metals inside the converter.

“They ground them off with no care, so they’ve ground onto the bodywork which now needs welding and repairing too.

“In total, they’ve caused about £700 worth of damage.

“I imagine they don’t get much for the scrap metal, but it’s cost us hundreds and hundreds of pounds. It does say ‘charity’ all over the van, too.

“This small act of vandalism has a huge impact - we’ve had to cut down on materials and books. It’s had a direct impact on the way we run the school and resources for the kids.

“We’re having to lose time raising money to get the bus back on the road.”

'We’re a small charity, with a massive local impact' - Brent Lewis

Mr Lewis says the charity, founded a decade ago, helps about 100 young people a week aged 11 to 24.

“We have kids who’ve been thrown out of school, or who have lost touch with the education process,” he explained. “We also deal with kids who have been brought up in real hard times, through no fault of their own.

“This is a place for them to come to re-engage with learning, where they can feel safe and accepted for who they are.

“Some spend six weeks with us and get their maths and English qualifications and then go back to school or college. Some are here four years. We’re a small charity, with a massive local impact.”

Mr Lewis says the minibus is a vital means of getting youngsters to and from the workshop, and transporting them on trips across the country.

“They rely on us to pick them up and if it’s late at night, we use the bus to get them home,” he said.

“We also take them on trips to skate parks all over the country. A lot of kids don’t have money to travel and some have never been out of Kent, so going on a trip with us is a really amazing, life-changing thing.

“They make their skateboards on a six-week course and at the end of that we take them somewhere. They look forward to it - it’s something exciting for them to work towards.

“We’re supposed to be going to Devon soon, and we’ve been invited to Street League Skateboarding in London, to see skateboarder from all over the world.

“But unless we get the bus fixed, there’s no way we can go there.”

The charity is now hoping to raise £700 to get its minibus back on the road.

To donate, visit The Far Academy's fundraising page.

Police are investigating the theft of the catalytic converter and exhaust. Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 01843 222289 quoting 46/56029/19.