COMMUNITY spirit helped a village bobby catch two teenagers who destroyed a primary school when they started a fire to keep warm.

Children and adults in Sedgefield were devastated when Hardwick primary school was ravaged by fire. The replacement cost is £1.3m.

Villagers' strong feelings saw youngsters, who heard of the culprits' identities, take the news to PC Keith Todd, the village's beat officer, as fire brigade and police forensic experts worked on establishing a cause of the fire.

Other members of the community also helped PC Todd identify James Gomersall, 19, of Cherry Tree Drive, Sedgefield, and a 14-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, as the culprits.

The pair admitted arson when they appeared before Teesside crown court last Friday. They also admitted another charge of arson at The Stables in the village. Both fires were started in January.

The 14-year-old also admitted a charge of theft for stealing two jackets and Gomersall admitted a charge of handling stolen goods, a Reebok coat.

After the hearing, PC Todd told how the fires had been started because the pair had been trying to keep warm.

"They had had a drink earlier on and they were just looking for somewhere, at 10pm at night, to keep warm," he said, adding they were "just up to mischief that night, which ended up with two arsons and the theft of coats".

Of the village's response, he said: "For the next two or three days, pupils were coming up to me, telling me little bits of information. Not only that, people were ringing the police station and Crimestoppers, giving information.

"Everybody was just devastated that the school had been burned down."

The fire continues to disrupt village life, with the 170 pupils being separated to parish and community centres for study.

Residents, led by the mayor of Sedgefield, Coun Maxine Robinson, have been fundraising for new equipment for the school, which some of the older pupils will never return to.

Sentence on the pair was deferred for four to six weeks for pre-sentence reports.

Gomersall was released on conditional bail and the other boy was remanded into local authority care.