A school will be forced to find hundreds of pounds to replace equipment from their garden after an overnight theft.

Bosses at Lancaster School on Prittlewell Chase, Westcliff, were alarmed to discover that plastic from their polytunnel – a type of greenhouse – had been cut away by the “neat” crook, before the fraudster escaped without triggering the alarms.

Headteacher Tom Jackson-Owens says the few hundreds of pounds it will cost to replace the material could have been used to provide equipment for the school’s new sensory room, a therapeutic space for students with special needs.

He explained: “It was only when the caretaker came in the next morning that we found out.

“Unfortunately that particular area doesn’t trigger the alarms, but we caught the thief on CCTV.

“It’s one thing finding out that it happened, but entirely another to watch it with your own eyes. You almost have a sense of disbelief.

“In the footage you can see someone jumping over the fence and cutting the plastic away on the polytunnel, before putting it in their backpack and leaving.

“The thief neatly moved things and strangely enough they left the frame behind.”

Mr Jackson-Owens is now hoping to make other schools aware, and is urging anyone with any information to get in touch with police.

He continued: “We suspect it happened overnight on September 21. They definitely waited until it was dark and when everything was packed up.

“We’re really disappointed that someone would want to set anyone back like this, but especially a school. Gardening is one of the things our kids love doing, and classes go out there to plant at least once a week – it helps relax them and helps them with all important skills.

“We would have used the money to get special equipment for our new sensory room, which the kids with special educational needs and learning difficulties could then use.”

Call 101 quoting crime reference 42/152680/20.