'They turned a disaster into a triumph'

Two intruders were caught on CCTV forcing their way into a classroom at Coppull Parish Church of England Primary School before making off with the laptops stashed in pink bags with ‘teachers are cool’ written on them.

Headteacher Frances Bird said: “They broke in through a side fence using a bolt cutter.

“CCTV pictures showed them scouring the school grounds and looking through windows.

“They then broke into the year six classroom by levering the window open to get to the laptops in the ICT cabinet inside.”

Police say the offenders accessed the building by cutting through a metal perimeter fence via the Lancaster Street entrance on Monday, February 6 at around 8pm.

When pupils came into school the morning following the burglary they were “upset” but creative teachers decided to use the incident to their advantage.

Mrs Bird told the Guardian that it was internet day at the school but since the laptops had been stolen teachers set the children the real life task of writing up a news report about what happened.

She said: “They interviewed the crime scene investigator and they also interviewed me, I told them I was ‘outraged’ at the theft.

“Then they wrote a newspaper report based on the event.

“So they managed to turn a disaster into a triumph.”

Meanwhile, police have launched an investigation into the break in.

A spokesman for Coppull Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “We are appealing for witnesses or information in regards to nine laptops that were stolen from Coppull Parish Primary School on Roe-Hey Drive.

“This occurred sometime between 8pm and 8.40pm on Monday, February 6.

“A pink bag with “teachers are cool” written on it was also taken from the school.

“This was used to transport the laptops from the school grounds.”

Anybody with information can contact the police on 101 quoting SC1700931.

The same night a fence surrounding Westmorland School in Weldbank Lane was also cut.