A security guard was hospitalised with burns to the face after a group of young men reportedly attacked him with a gas cylinder at a primary school in Ypsonas on Monday night.

The incident occurred when the young men entered the primary school’s football pitch. After being told to leave by the security guard, they reportedly started chasing him and threw a lit gas canister at his face.

The security guard was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with burns to the face.

President of the western Limassol school authority Herodotos Neophytou expressed his concern about repeated incidents at schools.

“Nobody is bothered to look into it – and it’s not just them destroying property, it might go as far as attempted murder as in this case,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

Neophytou added that apart from the four-metre-high fence and the presence of security guards, not much more can be done to protect the school.

He went on to say this is an “everyday phenomenon, and the nightmare cannot continue any longer.”

He added that there had been another incident at an Ypsonas school last week, in which he said a group of youngsters destroyed the walls of the local gymnasium.

“We knew before and we told the police but they were unable to arrest even one of them,” he said, however adding that he understood that the police could not be “everywhere at the same time.”

The authority plans to install cameras in schools considered high-risk, however Nephytou said this is not a solution, as “the root of evil is at home, and parents should be held accountable.

“If your child is not home at 1am, how do you not get suspicious?” he asked.

The school requested that parents cover the costs of repairs to “make sure that their children behave.”