VANDALS stole 10 laptops from a Bolton school and caused £3,000 worth of damage in the process.

The burglars forced open double doors at the rear of Kearsley Academy, before ransacking the music room in a raid on Friday night.

Two offenders had tried to smash a window by hurling a rock at the building — and then set off an alarm by forcing open the doors using a piece of wood.

They snatched a trolley containing 14 laptops and wheeled it onto the school field — having broken in between 10.25pm and 10.35pm.

On the field, they forced open the trolley and took 10 of the computers — each valued at about £300 — and fled before police arrived.

The school described the theft as "very disappointing" but said it had not affected lessons.

Police have so far made no arrests.

Officers were called automatically when the double doors were forced — but the raiders had escaped by the time they arrived.

A police spokesman said: "The laptops are worth about £300 each and the burglars also caused substantial damage worth about £3,000 to the school building and equipment."

Suzanne Pountain, acting principal at Kearsley Academy, said: "Security at Kearsley Academy is taken very seriously.

“CCTV cameras tracked the theft and thankfully we have been able to retrieve a number of stolen laptops but there are still some missing which is very disappointing.

“Thankfully, the theft has not impacted or disrupted our day-to-day activities.

"We will be liaising with the police and our insurance company to restore the damage to the property and replace the stolen laptops.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 8565608.