Lead flashing worth £3,000-£5,000 has been stolen from Kidderminster’s King Charles High School.

Police believe two wheelbarrows from a building site were used to remove lead from the school  – which has been targeted previously – to a van or low-loader. 

King Charles High has joined other schools in Kidderminster boosting security by using the forensic coding solution SmartWater on their premises to act as an added deterrent to thieves. 

Police and community support officers in the Wyre Forest area have specially adapted torches, which can detect if property has been marked with the solution. 

King Charles site manager Sara Knight mansaid: “This is the third time it has happened in two years. We have now had a total of £15,000 of lead stolen. We are just very disappointed that schools are being constantly targeted and it is the taxpayers that are having to fork out to replace it.”