Village primary school fire caused by solar panels

Solar panels were the cause of a blaze at a village primary school, the local fire service has said.

Firefighters were called to East Bergholt VC Primary School, on School Lane, in East Bergholt, Suffolk, on 4 August at about 11:16 BST.

Crews from Suffolk and Essex tackled the fire in a single-storey building that had spread under a flat roof.

A spokesperson for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said the cause had been recorded as accidental and the result of solar panels installed on the roof.

The spokesperson added that a number of the panels had been sent for further investigation.

On the day of the fire, the school had been unoccupied and no casualties were reported.

Images on social media showed thick plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky which could be seen as far away as the A12.

Nigel Roberts, vice chair of the East Bergholt Parish Council, previously said he believed the source of the fire had been the solar panels.

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