A PRIMARY school head teacher was left counting his blessings after arsonists tried to set fire to his school but failed.

Sometime between 1.30pm on Sunday, September 5, and 8.30am the next day, someone thrust burning paper into a classroom at Windermere CE Junior School but it landed on a table that failed to ignite.

Martin Thwaites, head teacher of the school on Princes Road, said the damage could have razed the school to the ground.

"If it wasn't for good fortune, we could have been looking at a burnt-out shell," he said.

On Monday morning, one of the teachers went into her classroom to prepare for the day and found a pile of scorched paper on a desk by a window.

Mr Thwaites said it appeared the arsonists had forced open two of the lower windows of the school that face out on to a field.

He blasted whoever was responsible and branded them "mindless vandals".

"Obviously they care nothing for the children of our school and what they would have lost," he said, adding repairing the damage caused by vandalism put extra pressure on school budgets that were already tight.

Mr Thwaites will be sending out letters to parents, urging them to report any suspicious behaviour to the police.

Cumbria Police spokesman Mike Head said: "This may have been something which appeared to the offender as a prank but things like this can have very serious consequences.

"Even out of school hours, there can still be people in buildings.

"The potential damage to property could have been high but if there had been someone in the building, it could have been even worse."

Cumbria County councillor Joan Stocker, cabinet spokesman for education and Windermere resident, said the south of the county, in particular, was "terribly lucky" to have so little vandalism.

Anyone with information can call Kendal police on 01539-722611.