Suspected arson attack at Catton Grove Primary School causes thousands of pounds worth of damage

An arson attack at a primary school to the north of Norwich has caused thousands of pounds in damage.

Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident, which is believed to have been started at Catton Grove Primary School at about 3.40pm on Sunday afternoon.

A police spokesman said those behind the incident were believed to be teenagers and were thought to have entered the school grounds from Middleton Close.

Ten commercial bins have been damaged, and headteacher Tim Lawes said the cost was likely to be between £5,000 and £10,000.

He said: 'They set fire to our bin store, and all of the bins were destroyed. The flames then also did a considerable amount of damage to our bin store and a couple of panels on the bike shelter were melted.'

He said the fire had not spread to the main school building and that lessons had not been affected.

'Unfortunately these things happen,' he said, 'but luckily they don't happen around here very often.'

He said CCTV footage from the site had been passed to police, who would work with nearby high schools.

Fire crews from Sprowston, Carrow and Earlham were called to the blaze on Sunday, where they used hose reel jets to extinguish it.

It comes after a spate of arson attacks in the Mile Cross area over the Easter weekend.

In 2001, an accidental fire destroyed Catton Grove Middle School, where the primary now sits.

• If you have any information about what happened, contact police on 101.