A NORTH-East primary school destroyed by fire will cost more than £1m to repair.
The estimated £1.3m bill for the damage to Hardwick Primary School, in Sedgefield, County Durham, was revealed today as two teenagers appeared in court in relation to the fire.
James Richard Gomersall, 18, of Cherry Tree Drive, Sedgefield, is jointly charged with destroying the school by fire with a 13-year-old boy who can not be named for legal reasons.
The pair are also jointly accused of setting fire to some stables and stealing two jackets from the toilets of a filling station. All three offences are alleged to have taken place between January 20 and 21 this year.
Both were released by Sedgefield Magistrates Court on conditional bail to reappear on April 6 and are expected to be committed to crown court.
Some 170 youngsters have been studying at Sedgefield Parish Hall since late January, but could be back in prefabricated buildings on their original site in the near future.
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