Boy, 15, arrested after fire at Hurst Green primary school

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service was called to Whalley Road, Hurst Green in the early hours on Saturday morning (July 20).

At around 4.30am, police were contacted by the fire service and attended the scene at St Joseph’s RC Primary School.

Crime scene investigation teams were at the school yesterday morning (Image: NQ)

The fire involved one of the classrooms at the school, according to the fire service’s drone social media account on X.

A person in the area said someone had broken into the school in the early hours and set the classroom alight.

Lancashire Police and the fire service are investigating the incident and a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been arrested on suspicion of arson not endangering life and remains in custody.

As well as the fire service, there was one police car and a crime scene investigation team outside the school, which is on a narrow country lane close to the entrance to the village.

The Sunday morning mass due to be held in the nearby chapel went ahead at St Peter’s church in neighbouring Stonyhurst.

READ MORE: Police investigation as fire breaks out at primary school in early hours

One resident said they had lived in the village for 30 years and have "never known anything like this.”

A police spokesperson said: “You may have seen an increased police presence in the Hurst Green area over the last couple of days, and we want to let you know why.

“At 4.37am yesterday (July 20) we were contacted by the fire service with a report of a fire at a primary school on Whalley Road in Hurst Green.

“Thankfully, nobody was injured.

“A joint investigation between ourselves and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service is underway and enquiries are ongoing.

Drone footage of the affected area was captured by the fire service (Image: LFRS Drone/X)

“A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson – not endangering life. He remains in custody.

“We wat to reassure you that an investigation is ongoing and whilst we are still in the early stages of that investigation, an arrest has been made.

“We know that this may sound concerning to the local community, however we ask you to avoid any speculation online or otherwise.”

Anyone with information that could help the police, such as CCTV or dashcam footage of the Whalley Road area between 1am and 4am on Saturday, should call 101 quoting log 0268 of July 20.