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SCHOOLS' STOLEN GOODS RECOVERED BY POLICE

ALMOST £10,000 worth of equipment which was stolen during a break-in at Stranraer Academy has been recovered by police.

Two local youths, one an existing pupil at the school and the other a former pupil, have been interviewed in connection with the case and are now the subject of a report to the Children's Reporter.

The stolen equipment, which included two laptop computers, four overhead projectors and a video recorder, was all recovered by police and returned to the school on Friday.

The news delighted staff who told the Free Press last week that they thought they had lost two years in their quest to become one of the country's most modern schools.

And this week Rector Jimmy Higgins was full of praise for the police for the "professional and urgent" manner in which they retrieved the goods. The relieved Rector said:

"The police have been magnificent in their response to this.

"They have treated it in a very professional manner and with an urgency which showed they realised the importance to young people's education in terms of the loss we suffered".

Mr Higgins continued:

"We were absolutely delighted with the news that all the equipment had been recovered and, apart from a single bulb in a projector, it is undamaged.

"It is a huge relief."