A STRUGGLING North-East school has had to close to hundreds of pupils after a week in which it was the victim of an arson attack, a bomb hoax and a flood.

Eastbourne Comprehensive, in Darlington, shut its doors to three out of five year groups yesterday after a pupil broke a water pipe and it flooded part of the school building. It is not known whether the latest damage was malicious.

It came a day after a student at the school is thought to have set fire to toilets. The resulting fire caused up to £250 worth of repairs.

Last night, Darlington police confirmed that a 13-year-old boy had been arrested on suspicion of arson and bailed to return to the police station in April.

The school also said the student had been excluded.

These two incidents come only days after a bomb hoax at the school.

On Wednesday last week, a woman phoned the school and reported a bomb in the building. All the pupils and staff were evacuated and the police carried out a search, but found nothing suspicious.

Eastbourne Comprehensive, in The Fairway, will reopen to all pupils today.

A spokesman for Darlington Borough Council said: "At about 3pm on Tuesday, a pupil broke a radiator pipe in a first-floor classroom.

"The subsequent flood meant that this classroom, plus two others, and a corridor at first-floor level, were not available for use. The flooding also affected classrooms and staff areas below. The matter is still under investigation."

Kevin Thompson, watch manager at Darlington fire station, said the brigade had helped with the clean-up after the flood.

His colleague, Mike Money, the crew manager who attended the fire on Monday, said: "Somebody had set fire to the toilet paper dispenser. When we arrived it was full of smoke and it was still on fire.

"This was the first arson attack at a school that I have been to for a long time. But we do have a programme of visiting school and educating students about fire risks."

Eastbourne Comprehensive was taken out of special measures - imposed by school inspectors who found the school was failing - in November 2004.

The school is an old building and Darlington Borough Council plans to close it and merge it with Hurworth School in a controversial new £25m academy on the edge of town.