School metal thefts cost Torfaen council £86,000 in repairs

The cost to repair the damage caused at West Monmouth School is expected to be around £45,000

Metal thefts from schools in Torfaen have left the county council facing an £86,000 repair bill.

Lead panels were stolen from the roof of West Monmouth School in Pontypool on 31 December causing the ceilings to collapse on the IT suite and art rooms and damaging student's exam work.

Henllys Church in Wales School and Croesyceiliog Comprehensive, both in Cwmbran, were targeted in November.

Torfaen council said it was a "massive waste of council resources".

Council leader Anthony Hunt said the latest attack was "devastating for pupils" who returned after the Christmas break to find their hard work ruined.

The council has CCTV footage of the most recent incident which they have passed to the Gwent Police.

IT equipment was destroyed

Mr Hunt said: "This is not the first time we have faced this problem in Torfaen and the roofs have all been treated with SmartWater, which has previously helped the police to trace and prosecute individuals.

"We have also replaced a lot of lead with substitutes, so thieves could end up with something that is worthless to them."

Lead stolen from the roof of West Monmouth School caused the ceilings to collapse in heavy rain