Police are appealing for witnesses after some lead flashing was stolen from a school in Blackbird Leys.

At about 3pm on Monday, police received a report that a section of the ceiling at Windale Primary School had collapsed. It soon became apparent that this was due to lead flashing having been stolen from the outside of the building.

Inspector Graham Sutherland said: "It is not unusual for the theft of lead from roofs not to be noticed until it rains, when considerable damage is caused by leaking roofs, or more seriously, when something like this happens and the ceiling collapses.

“Fortunately there were no pupils in this part of the building, or the consequences could have been far worse.

"If anyone was seriously injured or killed by the ceiling collapsing a manslaughter investigation could have been launched – a high price to pay for a quantity of lead.

“Theft of lead is a countrywide problem and this type of theft not only affects the victims, but also the community as it can increase contents and buildings insurance premiums dramatically.

“We believe that it will cost in the region of £10,000 to repair the ceiling and need to catch whoever is responsible and I urge anyone who might see people acting suspiciously around buildings, especially on the roofs of buildings, to contact us immediately.

“I would like to appeal to anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity in the area of the school and Windale Avenue or anyone who has any information to come forward.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the police via 0845 8 505 505, or if you don’t want to talk to the police or give your name, call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.