Specialist equipment lost in raids on local schools

A SPEAKER specially designed to help children with hearing difficulties was among specialist equipment stolen from a Tiverton school.

Two Moors Primary School in Cowleymoor Road lost the educational items in a spate of thefts from local schools this month.

Among other items taken from the school were a laptop, printer, flatscreen TV and a large fan.

Headteacher Roy Kerrigan said: "All our classrooms are fitted with an audio loop system for children who are hard of hearing and the speaker was part of that system.

"It was specially designed to help children with hearing difficulties to be more included in the class and it will cost a couple of hundred pounds to replace. But the thieves probably didn't realise what it was for and might sell it for a few quid.

"No-one would steal a wheelchair, but this is a little bit like doing that."

He said the thieves might not realise the full effects of their actions.

"These offenders think they are just stealing from some big organisation like Devon County Council," said Mr Kerrigan.

"But the money to replace these items comes out of our school budget — rather than using it to buy new reading books or footballs.

"In the 17 years I have been here, we have been really fortunate in avoiding vandalism and break-ins, and I think part of that is due to having a caretaker on site.

"We are also lucky that parents and neighbours of the school look out for us, and I even get people ringing me up in the evening to tell me if we have left a light on."

Another local school that fell victim to the thefts was St John's Roman Catholic Primary School.

Headteacher Di Carr said: "It is horrible. We had three laptops and a mobile phone taken.

"The phone contained all the parents contact details, so if we needed to we could get in touch with them quickly.

"The laptops had both teachers' lesson plans and children's work on them.

"Also, they are Apple computers, and the chargers were not taken, so the thieves won't be able to use them for very long. They might even end up just dumping them."

Sgt Curtis said following the report of thefts, schools in Tiverton had been warned of the need for extra safety measures: "We have been talking to all the schools in Tiverton and reminding them of the need to be particularly aware of the security of computer equipment."

Sgt Curtis said: "Criminals should be aware that many of these devices are password protected and are marked as school property.

"I would also advise the public that if someone offers you a laptop, and you don't know where it has come from, you could be depriving children of the use of resources for their education."

He said anyone with information about the theft or sale of stolen school computers or other items could call them on 08452 777444.