THIEVES broke into and vandalised a village school after Ofsted inspectors had commented on how 'nice' the surrounding area and people were.

Two school sheds at the Longwick C of E Combined School, Walnut Tree Lane, Longwick, and the main school hall were broken into. Equipment was vandalised and a new music system worth more than £750 was stolen.

The overnight break-in was discovered the same morning that Ofsted inspectors returned to give the findings of their inspection to headteacher Angela Lazarou and staff.

Mrs Lazarou said: 'When the inspectors had finished their inspection they said to us that this was a nice school in a nice area with nice people. Here we are with nice people but we have been broken into and vandalised.'

One of the damaged sheds, which both had their padlocks forced off, belonged to the school's Parent Teacher Association which raised the money to buy the school the new music system.

Mrs Lazarou added: 'The PTA is very generous and the members work very hard.

'They always listen to what we want and make careful decisions how they spend their money. And someone comes along and steals your hard-earned cash. We don't have spare money - it's just mindless.'

The school is insured but it is not certain that it will recover all its losses.

PC Frank Austin, of Risborough Police, condemned those responsible and said: 'It's a fairly dark area at night and particularly where they went in there are high hedges and it's really quite secluded. It's not the best practice to break into a school.'

Anyone with information concerning the break-in on Wednesday July 12 should contact PC Austin on (01296) 396099