DILAPIDATED school buildings in Blackburn and Darwen are to be repaired at a cost of £3.75million.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has agreed to spend £1million on projects which include refurbishing unhygienic toilets and replacing faulty windows at the borough's primary and secondary schools.

Some £115,000 is to be spent on a new roof at Shadsworth Infants School, Blackburn, with £125,000 set aside for similar work at Griffin Park Primary in the town.

Unhygienic toilets at Darwen Vale High School and the town's Moorland High School will also be refurbished, with the projects costing £40,000 and £30,000 respectively. Similar toilet improvements will also be made at nine of the borough's primary schools.

Floors will be repaired at Tullyallan Special School, Darwen, and Brookhouse Primary School, Blackburn, at a total cost of £60,000.

The money is in addition to nearly £2.75million of repair cash which the Government has already awarded to schools in the borough, mostly through its New Deal For Schools initiative.

The Government's cash will go towards refurbishing buildings and cutting class sizes at some of the borough's primary, junior and infants schools.

The latest £1million spending plan has been approved by the council's executive committee. A reserve fund of £51,000 has been set aside for any emergency work which may arise.