VILE vandals defecated in the marquee at Worcester Racecourse and left a trail of destruction.

Fire extinguishers were set off, furniture tipped over and tomato ketchup smeared in the marquee, which is a hospitality suite on racedays and also acts as a function room for events such as wedding receptions on other occasions.

The three culprits – two men and a woman – who carried out the disgusting acts in two seemingly separate incidents over a 24-hour period were captured on CCTV and police officers are now investigating.

Jenny Cheshire, commercial manager at Worcester Racecourse, said: “It’s infuriating and it’s horrible. It’s just so disgusting. Everything has got to be sanitised now.”

In the first incident, a man entered the marquee alone between 7am and 7.45am on Thursday. He defecated on the carpet, wiped himself off on a tablecloth then broke a CCTV camera.

Then, at about 3.40am yesterday, a man and a woman, who Ms Cheshire described as acting drunk when she watched the CCTV footage, entered the marquee and committed more damage.

They turned tables over, threw salt and pepper around, smeared ketchup on the drapes and set off fire extinguishers before the woman urinated in the kitchen area and the man, who was out of sight of the CCTV camera, allegedly defecated on top of a table.

When staff discovered the mess yesterday morning they called the police and got a team of cleaners in.

Ms Cheshire said that while there had been other incidents at the marquee, which has been in place on Pitchcroft since 2007, there there has never been anything as serious as this.

She said: “These people have been captured on CCTV and their faces can be seen. It might have been a big prank at the time but was it worth it? They will be caught.”

West Mercia Police urges anyone who knows who they are to call on 03003 333000, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.