Children as young as nine are putting their lives in peril by sneaking into their old classrooms to try to set them ablaze, a senior fire officer warned today.

Firefighters at Odsal say they are dreading finding a child trapped in a burning classroom, after getting called out to five school arson attacks in five days.

They have now raised their concerns with senior education officials at Bradford Council and urged that power supplies are disconnected and buildings cleared of flammable furniture and papers to reduce risk.

At Wyke Middle School, one of the sites closed under the council's schools shake-up, youngsters squeezed through a gap in a boarded-up window and set fire to papers in a classroom.

"The normal exits --- doors and windows --- are boarded up and this could create a life or death situation," said Station Officer Les Cowling, at Odsal fire station, whose team has also tackled blazes at Woodroyd Middle School and Bierley School. "Due to the fact there's very little security on some of these disused school sites, vandals have the chance to cause a lot of problems. They could easily get trapped inside and that's what we're dreading most -- finding a child's body."

Today, schools bosses acknowledged the dangers posed by the 73 school sites abandoned under the schools shake-up and now boarded up.

"The fire service is right to point out the hazards young people face if they break in, and we hope everyone will help us keep them safe by making sure they stay away," said Philip Hoyle, head of the council's school security team. "Parents need to realise the dangers their kids are in, if they don't keep them supervised."

He said extra security patrols were being used to take account of the disused sites.

Police have appealed for witnesses to the incident at Wyke Middle School at 2.30pm on Sunday.

Anyone with information is asked to call PC Richard Store on (01274) 376659.

email: sarah.walsh@

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