BURGLARS raided a village primary school in the middle of the night to steal a safe containing hundreds of pounds in cash and cheques.

They broke into Great Staughton Primary School just before midnight last Wednesday (September 7) and escaped with a digital safe, just two days into the new school year.

The safe was recovered on Monday at a farm in Caldecote but police are appealing for information from anyone who may have witnessed the incident.

Officers were alerted to the burglary when the alarm system at the school, in The Causeway, was triggered shortly before midnight. The offenders had broken in through the front door, and went straight to the school office, where they forced a locked cupboard and accessed the safe.

It contained �600 in cash and �1,400 in cheques, said a Cambridgeshire County Council spokesman, including many start-of-term payments from parents.

The front door was damaged in the raid, but the school opened as usual on Thursday morning.

A police spokesman said: “Police were called just before midnight last Wednesday (September 7) to Great Staughton Primary School.

“Police were alerted after the alarm at the school was activated. Forensics attended the scene, and house-to-house enquiries have been carried out. The safe was recovered on Monday at a farm in Caldecote.”

INFORMATION: Call 0345 456 4564 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.