POLICE are investigating claims that arsonists as young as 12 filmed an attack on a nursery school playground and put the footage on the internet.

Youngsters were left heartbroken after their toys and summer house were burned at St Pius X Primary School, in Middlesbrough.

The school faces a repair bill of thousands of pounds.

Security camera footage showed the arsonists, who struck at about 1.45pm on Sunday, were aged about 12.

They may have filmed the fire and put it on social networking site Facebook.

As well as the summer house, a new fence, new guttering, wall plaques, the roof of a nearby shed, children’s toys and dressing-up clothes and tables and chairs were destroyed.

Headteacher Catherine Percival said: “There was talk from quite a few of our children and parents that it had been filmed and uploaded on to Facebook. All we could do was tell the police and hope it helps them with their investigations.”

Mrs Percival said she rushed to the school after receiving a call from the caretaker.

She said: “I got to the school as soon as I could.

“A father of one of the children had spotted the fire and leapt over the fence to see what he could do. The caretaker saw him from the kitchen window.

“The flames were so high that people in the area thought the main school was on fire. It will cost thousands to pay for all this.

“It is really sad for the children.

Most of them knew before they came to school what had happened, but they were a little upset.

“It is not a school with a vandalism problem and we are in a great community.

“We will all rally together, there is no doubt of that, and there will be fundraising activities to raise money to replace what we have lost.”

Police are investigating the incident.