A North East school has suffered ‘significant damage’ to its roof after lead was stripped from the building over the weekend.

Dubmire Primary Academy in Houghton-le-Spring have said they are “beyond devastated” after it was discovered today (June 17) that lead from their school roof had been ‘stolen’ over the weekend.

The school said an investigation into the damage has found a leak leading into the corridor at the school – while the full extent of the damage has yet to be determined.

They have estimated repair works will cost thousands of pounds to carry out.

A spokesperson for Dubmire said: “The school would like to pass on their thanks to the Dubmire parents and wider community who have already contacted us to offer their support and concern. 

“We know we can always rely on the support we receive from our parents and carers.”

Assistant headteacher Helen Anderson said: “It’s just a massive impact for us, for funding and everything when things are already really tight.

“We’re still having a look at the outside of the building, but we’ve got a leak within school already that’s quite a significant leak inside in one of our corridors.

“If we get some more rain tonight or later today, that’s going to be a bit of a problem.

“At the moment we’re fine because it’s only in the corridor, but we would have to reassess depending on how much rain we get over the next couple of days.

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“We’re still assessing the damage on the roof, we’ll probably only see the real extent of the damage over the next few days.”

They confirmed they have reported the incident to police.

The Northern Echo have contacted Northumbria Police for more information on the incident.