SCHOOLS in Leeds, North Yorkshire and Bradford are set to benefit from nearly £400,000 aimed at improving security for pupils.

Local education authorities are being encouraged to use the money on security measures such as fencing, CCTV and access control systems to help reduce incidences of personal attack, trespassing, vandalism, theft or arson.

Local education authorities across the country are set to benefit from £10 million to improve security in schools and North Yorkshire, Bradford and Leeds are to get £380,213 between them.

Leeds is set to get £138,861, but it is up to each LEA to decide which schools are most in need of financial help.

An Education Leeds spokesperson said: "We are very pleased to receive this funding to improve security in Leeds schools.

"We will be inviting schools to bid for our allocation of £138,861 although we already have 50 outstanding bids from schools for worthy schemes which could not be funded last year and so we expect there to be a heavy demand for this money.

"This funding will be used to provide more security fencing and CCTV and our priorities will take into account the numbers of incidents recorded by each school across the city.

"Over the past five years, more than £5m has been spent on improving security in schools in Leeds."