THOUSANDS of pounds worth of lead has been stolen from a school in Penarth.

Cogan Primary School was targeted by lead thieves over the Easter period, when pupils were not in school.

The incident was reported on Tuesday April 5 with the theft thought to have happened over night.

It is estimated to have cost Cogan school around £5,500, with some pupils' exercise book damaged by rainwater as a result of the theft.

The flat roof and ridges of the annexed building on the school site were affected earlier this month.

Cogan Primary's headteacher, Susan Sibert, said that they had to replace the missing lead with PVC as "quickly as possible" to make the roof watertight again.

"This is a really community based school and we don't know why someone has targeted us in this way," she added.

"We have very little lead left to replace what has gone and it has caused disruption to the school. We had to act very quickly.

"We are already facing a battle for financially so this sort of thing is very annoying for all of us."

Mrs Sibert said that they had captured the culprits on CCTV and had handed the footage over to the police.

A spokesman for South Wales Police confirmed they had received reports and said an investigation was ongoing.

They believe that two people were involved in the theft. They said the duo were wearing "distinctive" clothing.

Officers have urged people who may have been in the area at the time, or witnessed anything suspicious, to come forward and assist them with their inquiries.

If anyone has any information they should contact police via 101 quoting 118325.