TWO boys have been blamed for causing thousands of pounds of damage to a primary school when they burned a storage shed to the ground.

The pair, thought to be aged between ten and 14, climbed over a fence on to the site of Greengates Primary School, headed to a storage shed and set a fire that quickly took hold shortly before 1pm today.

The school in Stockhill Road is closed for half term, and a neighbour alerted the fire brigade.

Despite the efforts of two fire crews from Idle and Rawdon, the building burned to the ground in only 15 minutes.

The shed, next to the school's playground, is used to store forest school equipment, and contained tents, gardening equipment, including wheelbarrows, and a barbecue.

Police are now investigating the incident, and are trying to identify the two boys captured on camera shortly before the fire.

Head teacher Andy Gaunt was called to the school after the fire started, and estimates the damage caused will cost anywhere between £3,000 and £5,000.

He said: "It was a wooden shed and wooden decking, so it went down really fast. It had a lot of tools and resources for our school's forest school.

"I've watched the CCTV and you can see two boys come up from the bottom of the school grounds, then tear up some paper, place it at the door to the shed then light a fire."

He said the boys did not attempt to steal anything, and only seemed interested in setting the fire.

Mr Gaunt added: "It wasn't like they broke in to take anything.

"There is no chance of re-claiming anything, we'll just have to make the site safe for Monday when the kids get back now.

"The shed will cost a few hundred pounds to replace, but then there are the items inside, the decking, the electricity work to be re-done. The claim will be between £3,000 and £5,000."

Alan Ramsey, crew commander for Idle fire station, said: "We prevented it from spreading any further, and although we got it under control it required quite a lot of water to do so, as it is a large wooden structure.

"We reported it to police because some people had been seen at the scene beforehand, and the fire appears to have been started by people poking material through gaps underneath the shed."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said inquiries into the incident were ongoing and urged anyone with information to call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.