YOUNG yobs are believed to have started a blaze at a Rossendale primary school.

Fire crews said juveniles set fire to a refuse compound at Newchurch County Primary School, Dark Lane, Newchurch, which spread to the main building.

Police received an anonymous call and managed to bring it under control by using a fire extinguisher.

But fire chiefs today warned that the incident could have been a lot worse.

Leading Firefighter Dave Seal said: "The fire spread to the doors of the electricity room. If we hadn't have got here when we did then the whole school would have gone up in flames because the compound is attached to the school and is under the same roof.

"Fortunately, the fire didn't spread to the roof but we don't really know if any damage has been done to the electrics. Hopefully, the children will be able to come back to school as normal on Monday but if the electrics have been damaged, that may not be the case."

Leading Firefighter Seal said that the youngsters had started their trail of destruction earlier when they set a wheelie bin on fire in Burnley Road East.

He added: "There were a group of about six of them aged between 15-18 years old. Once they had got fed up with being in one area they started a fire and moved on through the park to the school.

"They had been out drinking and probably thought it would be funny to do something like this.

"They have to realise that it could have been far more serious and not only that if there had been a fire somewhere else we wouldn't have been able to get to it because we were tied up in Newchurch tackling a fire started by mindless individuals."