Primary school children could be forced out of their school for the next week after the theft of thousands of pound worth of lead from its roof led to heavy flooding.
Lead was stolen from the roof of Burley St Matthias' Church of England Primary School during the summer holidays and a temporary repair was made. Recent heavy rain broke through the repair and a large part of the school was forced to close yesterday.
Classrooms in the Key Stage 2 building are under an inch of water and all three floors of the building have been flooded. The library is sodden, ceilings have fallen in and the electrics are also damaged.
The flood has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The school is now working with Education Leeds to assess the full scale of the damage and is looking for nearby community provision to use while the damage is repaired. It could be forced to use alternative buildings for more than a week.
Acting headteacher Johanna Jobson said:
"This is a sad and unnecessary situation for the school to find itself in so early in the new school year. Having our roof stolen was bad enough but the flooding has really damaged our school and upset our children and staff.
"The buildings are currently unsafe for the children to be in and we are looking for other buildings to use so the disruption to their education is kept to a minimum.
"I hope the thoughtless and callous thieves are proud of their actions and realise the huge negative impact they've had on our school and our children."
The theft of the roof has been reported to the police and is being investigated. Anyone with information should contact the North West Inner Neighbourhood Policing Team on 0113 2053025.
