UK COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM SCHOOL HEN News : Hertfordshire Mercury News : Third school hit in hi-tech theft spree:

Third school hit in hi-tech theft spree

CHAUNCY in Ware is the latest school to be hit by thieves targeting hi-tech equipment.

Eight computers and flat-screen monitors, two laptops and a projector, in total worth around £20,000, were stolen from a musical technology classroom in the early hours of Tuesday.

Headteacher Dennis O'Sullivan fears two of his A-level students may have lost vital work.

The thieves broke in by forcing locks on windows accessed from the flat roof. They cut the wires of the computers.

'They knew exactly what they were doing,' said Mr O'Sullivan.

They left four computers on the roof, which got soaked following overnight rain. Staff are trying to rescue the hard drives.

CCTV footage handed over to the police identifies three male youths in hooded tops. One is around 6ft 6in (1.97m) tall, the second 6ft 2in (1.88m) and the third 5ft (1.52m). Their faces are obscured on the video footage.

It follows break-ins at Richard Hale School and Morgans School, both in Hertford, during which projectors and laptop computers were stolen.

Meanwhile, the eight Chauncy pupils accused of racism following a chant of 'Yid Army' will return to Hertford police station in 11"