A teacher today admitted deliberately setting fire to her own Bradford school.

Amina Ditta (pictured) admitted starting a blaze in a temporary classroom at Manningham's Atlas Primary School, the scene of five small fires in the space of a single week last year.

It is still unclear what prompted the softly-spoken, slightly-built teacher, who was of previous good character, to carry out an attack which caused shock among worried parents.

At one point the Lincoln Close site, which caters mainly for children from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds, had to move lessons into the school hall from a portable classroom which had been the main target for the fires.

And the incidents prompted education bosses to beef up security at the site by employing two security guards to provide it with around-the-clock protection.

When Ditta was eventually arrested and charged by police, she was immediately suspended from her post and banned from entering any school building in the district.

After questioning her in police custody, detectives said they were not seeking anyone else in connection with the other fires.

Ditta, 23, of Scholemoor Road, Scholemoor, Bradford, had earlier denied an allegation of arson but changed her plea to guilty when she appeared before the city's Crown Court today.

It relates to a single charge of "arson with intent to destroy or damage school property, or being reckless as to whether school property will be damaged" on April 24 last year.

Judge Geoffrey Kamil adjourned sentencing Ditta for the preparation of psychiatric and pre-sentence reports.

Granting her bail on condition that she did not enter any school, Judge Kamil said: "This is a very serious matter and I must make it absolutely clear to you there are no exceptions as to how you are going to be dealt with so the reports will consider all options."