GLUE sniffers and vandals are plaguing a Bury school and putting children at risk from serious injury. They are also making teachers feel unsafe while working overtime.

St. Joseph's and St. Bede's primary school, which also has a nursery, has been suffering security problems because it does not have fencing.

This is giving a handful of youths easy access to the school to damage and steal property.

Headmistress Sue McAvady told The Journal: "Only last week, while I was working late, thieves broke in and stole a computer.

"This is just one of the problems we are facing due to there being no fencing around the school's perimeter.

"Youths are coming in the grounds in the evening with bags of glue, which children have discovered the next morning.

"Now the grounds are being used for scrambling bikes, causing severe damage to the playing fields."

She continued: "The bikers are coming into the grounds when children are about to go home, putting them in danger.

"No child has actually been harmed, but there have been near collisions.

"Children are missing out on sports education as the grounds are basically out of use.

"Any improvements made to the grounds are simply destroyed by the bikes."

As a precautionary measure against the potential threat being faced by teachers and pupils, bleepers have been issued to staff, and St. Joesph's and St. Bede's is the first school in Bury to have them.

The problem could be easily overcome by the installation of a security perimeter fence but because of a severe lack of funding by the Department of Education, has been denied.

Paul Ainscough, Chairman of Education, highlighted these problems at a Policy Steering Committee.

He told The Journal: "I will be approaching the Euro MP Michael Hindley and local MP Alistair Burt, and will be looking to raise money through the Community Safety Strategy Programme.

"Cash has to be raised for the much-needed fence, especially in the light of what happened with the murder of the headmaster in London

"The money is not available through the normal channels, and will have to be raised corporately."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.