Thousands raised overnight after school oil theft

Over £2,000 has been raised in less than a day for a school after heating oil was stolen from its tank.

St Peter & St Paul Primary School in Eye, Suffolk, had 2,000 litres (440 gallons) of oil stolen at some point between 17 and 23 January.

A fundraising page set up on Monday described the crime as "despicable" which could have had a "detrimental effect" on staff and pupils.

Suffolk Police has been investigating and has appealed for information.

"As you may well know, schools run to a very tight budget and replacing expensive heating oil in the height of winter will completely decimate a large chunk of the budget which should be for the children's benefit... the running of the school and the resources desperately needed to support the children's learning journey," the fundraiser said.

"There are vulnerable children and staff at the school and an unheated environment during winter will have a detrimental effect on these people too.

"So if we can pull together as a community to ensure our school is not severely out of pocket thanks to this despicable crime it would be fantastic."

Police recommend fitting oil tanks with padlocks or lockable filler caps to help prevent theft as well as securing tanks within a cage, and fitting alarms which go off when tanks empty rapidly.

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