School struck by bolt from the blue

STAFF and pupils at a Shaw school escaped unharmed yesterday when lightning struck the building during the torrential thunder storms which hung over the borough for much of the afternoon.

A fierce bolt triggered the fire alarm at Crompton House School at about 1pm.

Some of the electrical circuits were blown in the incident.

Deputy headteacher Jim Upton reported surprisingly little damage — the lights didn’t even go out — but said engineers would be working on repairs to the alarm system today.