Vandals broke their way into a Grade II-listed building in Norwich and caused 'mayhem' with £30,000 worth of damage over bank holiday weekend.
A late 19th century former coach house owned by Estateducation, 41 All Saints Green was given the green light by Norwich City Council to be turned into nine new flats in March of this year.
Steve Sizer, of Devise Construction, said the building was waiting approval of conditions due to its listed status when it was broken into between Thursday and Tuesday.
'People managed to get in there over the weekend and absolutely wreck the place,' he said.
'This building has a lot of history and heritage. It has been derelict for some time now and we bought it six months ago.
'We were very close to start working on it and whoever broke in at the weekend had a massive party.'
Over the weekend walls had graffiti painted over them, brickwork was broken and lead windows were shattered.
'The damage they have done to historic parts of the building you just can't put right,' added Mr Sizer.
He added the property was 'as secure as it could be'.
'They must have had tools and managed to rip the boards off windows and doors that we had hoarded up,' he said. 'They have taken fences down at the back and managed to create mayhem.
'The building has now lost all the lead windows at the back which are 100 years old. There is blood spread all over the place too after they kicked and punched in all the windows so I shouldn't think they will be hard to find.'
Mr Sizer added he was 'gutted' as some of the historic fittings couldn't be replaced.
'As builders we want to keep things as they were from 100 years ago and we try to restore the past, not destroy it.'
'For someone to smash the place apart is quite disgusting really.'
A spokesperson for Norfolk Police said the incident was reported at 10.36am on Tuesday,
The caller reported a property on All Saints Green had been entered and extensive damage caused inside - floorboards pulled up, lead piping removed, windows smashed and graffiti sprayed.
They said there is mention it could be linked to other incidents at a construction site but enquiries are ongoing.
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