Three teenagers charged with stealing copper from school roof

THREE teenagers have been arrested and charged in connection with the alleged theft of copper from a city primary school.

Two 18-year-old men are set to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date, while a boy, who is aged 14, will be the subject of a report to the Children's Reporter.

The arrests follow a string of thefts from Parsons Green Primary School in Meadowfield Drive. Police said that copper was reported stolen from the school roof on March 24, 25 and 28, and also on March 11, with an attempted theft on March 2.

School bosses said the stolen copper had been replaced by felting, which did not work as well, and was more likely to be damaged in bad weather.

Thieves often target copper on the roof of buildings to sell to scrap metal merchants.