UK JUNIOR SCHOOL ROBBED OF COMPUTERS AND HARD DRIVES Ripley Today
The thieves stole three computer hard-drives at around 7.30pm last Wednesday, and it is suspected that if it were not for the school's alarm system, more equipment would have been taken.
Headteacher Stephen Booth, said: "The pupils are extremely upset about it. It is a violation of their space."
During the raid, the thieves caused considerable damage to the Church Street school by forcing external and internal doors.
They also dropped a further five computers on the hall floor as they hurriedly made their getaway. School staff and pupils are now anxiously waiting to discover if these machines are still in working order.
Mr Booth added: "One of the features of this school is that we have a nice computer suite. We were meant to have classes in the suite on Thursday, but the theft meant that this class couldn't go ahead.
"Although we are covered by insurance, our premiums keep going up. This means we will be out of pocket as a school. Money that should have been spent on other things will now have to go towards the insurance. It is just not fair."
School governor, Paul Smith, said: "The people that commit these crimes are taking resources from schools that take a lot of effort and funding to provide. While these machines are being replaced, it means pupils are without a useful resource. It is very upsetting for everybody involved and I urge anyone with information to contact the police."
The computers that the thieves stole were Dell Optiplex GX240 models. These are a distinctive black and grey colour. The thieves only stole the hard-drive base units, they left the accompanying keyboards, monitors and mice.
Alfreton's Community Safety Officer, PC Bob Lee, said: "This incident is very distressing for the children and it's very disruptive to the school place.
"The incident happened fairly early in the evening and I am pretty sure there would have been a car involved. We would like to hear from anyone who saw vehicles leaving the vicinity."
If you have any information on this incident, please call Derbyshire police on 0845 123 33 33 or call



18 March 2004