THE headteacher of a village school destroyed by teenage arsonists has spoken out as two boys await their punishment for the crime.

Viv Clark, head of Brindle Gregson Lane Primary, Hoghton, said: "We are going to feel the shockwaves for years to come."

The £2m fire not only destroyed the school but also rocked the close-knit village community.

The teenagers, aged 14 and 15, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to a joint charge of arson and being reckless as to whether the school would be destroyed or damaged. They could be facing custodial sentences.

The fire in May last year was started in a wheelie bin but quickly spread through the school. Mrs Clark said: "We have had to do so much to get the school moving forward we haven't had time to think. You have got to be positive and say what's happened has happened.

"If it hadn't been for the tremendous support of the parents and Lancashire Education Authority we wouldn't have got to where we are."

Plans for the new school are currently being finalised and work should be finished by March next year.

Of the two boys, Mrs Clark said she had "a mixture of feelings".

"In some ways you can feel very sorry for their families but at the same time we do live in a society where there's more and more juvenile nuisance that has far reaching consequences.

"I think we have all learned lessons from it. Hopefully it will be a salutary lesson for other youths."