Pupils take cover as stable roof blows off

All 110 pupils at a primary school were crammed into a classroom to keep them safe when the roof blew off a neighbouring stable block.

The head at Kneesall CofE Primary School, Mrs Sue Ilett-Coupe, was alerted when a boy came to her office, sent by his class teacher, to say she might want to look at the roof.

Believing it was a reference to lifting false ceiling tiles that the wind had got beneath, she was amazed to see a 20ftx12ft stable roof hanging precariously in the trees bordering the school playground and threatening to lift off again into the school itself.

"I said to the children that we might want to move into the hall," said Mrs Ilett-Coupe.

"We gathered all of the children from the two classrooms closest to the playground and moved them into the hall and phoned the fire brigade.

"We moved the foundation children into the hall too.

"We instantly kicked in our emergency plan and informed both the county and district councils of what was happening.

"We were ready to evacuate to our neighbouring school. We told the children we would be going to play with our friends at Caunton and that it would be exciting.

"The fire brigade arrived and said that they would sooner that we stayed in school so we squeezed all 110 children into the furthest classroom away from the incident.

"They were fantastic and all played happily together and there was no fuss. They were all so well behaved, especially as we hadn't let them out at morning break because it was so gusty."

The school rang Marshall's Coaches of Sutton-on-Trent in line with their evacuation plan and Mrs Coupe said enough buses to ferry everyone to Caunton Dean Hole Primary School arrived within half an hour and waited on the village green until the fire service gave the all-clear.

Mansfield firefighters attended and tried to drag the structure back into the field it had come from, but without success.

They drove their engine onto the school field and with the help of a local farmer and his JCB, pushed it back instead.

It was then cut up so there was no risk of it taking off again.

A firefighter said the roof was perched 12ft in the air and its position meant it was a real danger.

He said there were horses in the field but not in the stables at the time.

"There were some pretty major gusts out there," he said.

Mrs Ilett-Coupe said: "All's well that ends well but I have never experienced anything like it in my teaching career. I can't thank Marshall's and the fire service enough."