A SECOND school has been the target of lead thefts in the space of a week.

Staff at Southfield Junior School, in Highworth, discovered that lead had been stolen off their roof when a leak emerged last Friday.

A local roofer, when investigating the leak, found that all the lead had been taken from the bell tower on the roof which dates back to 1898.

Head teacher Nichola Anderton was left shocked by theft and is now appealing to members of the public to think back to any suspicious activity they may have seen over the Easter holidays.

She said: “After all the rain we had a leak developed so we called out a local builder on Friday.

“He went to investigate the leak and came down and told us all the lead off the bell had been stolen.

“The roofer has come out and put something temporary up to stop the leaking but we won’t be replacing the lead.

“It will be fitted with a felt which is made to look like lead.

“I couldn’t believe the cheek of it and that somebody would do something like that to the school.

“It was all there before the Easter holidays, so we think that is when it happened but if you see someone on a ladder during the holidays you just think that they are doing maintenance work.

“I am hoping somebody in the local community would have seen someone acting suspiciously over that time and can help us and the police.”

Yesterday Rodbourne Cheney Primary school fully re-opened after the ceilings of three classrooms collapsed when thieves stole lead from its roof.

A spokeswoman for Rodbourne Cheney Primary School said the lead was stolen during the Easter holidays and temporary repairs were made.

The school was forced to close its reception and years one and two classes on both Monday and Tuesday.

Heavy rain then stopped the permanent repairs from being carried out,and the spokeswoman said full repairs are expected to be carried out on Friday.

Anyone who has any information about either of the incidents of lead theft should contact Wiltshire Police on 101.