PRIMARY school pupils have been told they cannot go back to school until after the Christmas break following a fire.

More than 250 children were sent home yesterday because of the damage caused by the blaze at Harrow Gate Lane Primary School, in Stockton.

Firefighters tackled the fire for about two hours yesterday morning.

One classroom was completely destroyed, while the rest of the school suffered major smoke and water damage.

Headteacher Debbie Collinson said the pupils and teachers were heartbroken by the incident.

She said: "It has put a real dampener on Christmas. All the children worked hard to make cards and presents for parents and they have all been destroyed. It is heartbreaking.

"They are also going to miss out on Christmas activities, such as parties, that they have been looking forward to Christmas has been ruined for them."

Investigations into the cause of the fire, which police and the fire brigade are treating as suspicious, began yesterday.

Station Officer Ian Dowson, from Stockton fire station, said: "The cause of the fire is being investigated and we do believe it was started deliberately.

"We had to tackle the fire by entering the school wearing breathing apparatus.

"This was the only way we could stop it spreading to other classrooms."

A Stockton Council spokeswoman said specialist staff were examining the scene yesterday. She said: "Education officers will be in attendance together with technical officers to assess the damage.

"Our aim is to get the school back to normal operation as soon as possible to minimise the effect on the children's education."

A spokeswoman from Stockton Police said: "We haven't identified a specific cause of the fire as yet but the arson investigation team are inspecting the scene."

It is hoped the infant and nursery children will be able to return to school on January 6.

The junior school pupils will break up for Christmas as normal on Friday