A stray elephant that had wandered into the human habitat destroyed a school’s compound wall and sports equipment room in Chinnathadagam, near Coimbatore, early in the morning today.

The elephant had come down from the hills and was spotted near the village at 4 AM. The villagers informed the forest guards who rushed to the area and began waving burning fireballs to scare the elephant away. The villagers, on their part, made lot of noise to make the pachyderm head back to the jungle.

But, the elephant, terrified of the din, broke down the compound wall and ran into the playground, damaging the volleyball poles and sports equipment. It then turned its attention to the nearby vegetable stalls and heaps of jackfruits.

The locals said that such attacks have increased in the past few months.