Community rallies after fire rips through Colne school's treasured forest area

A fundraising appeal launched after Lord Street Primary School's outdoor classroom was wrecked in a suspected arson attack has almost raised £3,000.
By Faiza Afzaal
Published 24th Jun 2020, 07:23 BST
Updated 24th Jun 2020, 07:36 BST
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As reported previously, heartbroken staff and parents of the school slammed "sick" vandals who burnt down their Forest School where pupils used to go to do woodwork, plant seeds, tend to plants and learn how to build using sustainable materials.

Firefighters were called to the school on June 18th, at 8-45pm and were on the scene for 55 minutes, but they were not able to save two sheds, full of school equipment, from burning to the ground. A joint investigation between the fire service and police is under way.

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Since the incident, the response from the parents of Lord Street youngsters has been immense, with two GoFundMe pages already raising around £3,000 to support the rebuilding of the precious area.

Community spirit is alive and well in Colne as everyone is doing their bit to rebuild the Forest SchoolCommunity spirit is alive and well in Colne as everyone is doing their bit to rebuild the Forest School
Community spirit is alive and well in Colne as everyone is doing their bit to rebuild the Forest School

One of the them was launched by parent, Wendy Brett, who said: "Unfortunately, some mindless idiots have taken it upon themselves to burn Lord Street's Forest School shed with all its equipment into the ground.

"Our children have loved and thrived being at forest school and it seems such a shame they'll have to miss out due to some idiots. Please donate, if you can spare anything towards a new shed and tools or equipment. I know it will be a big help for the school and the children who use it."

While another fundraising page was launched by Warren Singleton, who said: "Help us raise money to rebuild the Forest School for the children of Lord Street Primary." Anyone wishing to donate can do so by clicking here

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Ella Redhead, assistant headteacher, thanked members of the public for their support: "Can I just say a huge heartfelt thank you to our local community. I have been overwhelmed with messages offering time, resources and monetary gifts to rebuild the Forest School. We have had a huge number of offers of help in lots of different ways. We have managed to get the ball rolling at Forest School. We have mowed the grass and had fruit trees, pallets, children's wheel barrows, gardening gloves and tyres donated. Colne as a community - you should be proud of yourselves - thank you so much! If you would like to support us in any way to make our Forest School amazing again, please e-mail [email protected]."