MINI-VANDALS have been dragging themselves on top of wheelie bins to gain access to Glaisnock House and running amok.

The site, which has lain derelict for some time, has been targeted frequently with nearby residents frustrated at the regular sound of breaking glass and similar sounds piercing the night air.

It would appear the wrecking crew is getting younger after a fed-up neighbour of the abandoned building made a worrying discovery.

Asking not to be named, she told the Chronicle: “On Monday of last week I noticed two wheelie bins had been placed by the kids to be used for climbing in through broken windows.

“I moved the bins away from the house and out onto Glaisnock Road then called the council, asking them to be removed.”

By Wednesday, they were still by the road-side but later that evening had been knocked over with their contents strewn across adjacent fields.

It was Saturday morning before the bins were lifted which angered the resident even more, in the circumstances — she was told that the department responsible for picking the bins up were ‘short-staffed’.

A spokeswoman for East Ayrshire Council confirmed that the bins had been removed at the weekend and that this was within the normal time scale of such a request.

Meanwhile, the issue of Glaisnock House remains a constant cause for concern locally with ongoing disputes over who is responsible for the property and surrounding grounds.

After being bought in 2014 by Xu Yaang, a Chinese-based businessman, it was revealed that the listed building would become a language and cultural centre.

Chinese students and entrepreneurs would learn English and be tutored in European culture while UK nationals would do likewise in reverse.

These plans were thrown into total disarray when Mr Yaang died suddenly from a brain tumour back August 2015, aged just 39.

He was survived by his wife and two children, but all subsequent attempts to continue with the site’s development have failed — while the building continues to deteriorate.

A spokesman for East Ayrshire Council said: “Glaisnock House was inspected in September 2016 and it was noted that a number of ground floor windows had been broken.

“Contact was made with the owner’s solicitors to request that they arrange the necessary work to be carried out to secure the building.

“There was no response to this communication and at the end of 2016, we took action to board up lower floor windows with metal sheeting. We are continuing to monitor the situation.”