ALMOST three quarters of fires in schools are deliberately set, it was revealed last night.

The cost nationally is £100m every year, the equivalent of opening 40 new schools.

The shocking figures follow the destruction on Monday night of Halton Lodge Primary School in Runcorn.

Cheshire Police believe the blaze was started deliberately.

In Cheshire, the last three major school fires were all started deliberately, with hundreds of other more minor rubbish and outbuilding blazes also recorded.

On Merseyside, latest figures show that 74pc of fires this year on educational premises were believed to have been started deliberately.

Since April, there have been 23 major school fires, with 19 of them believed to have been due to arson attacks.

Almost half of the blazes are set on Sundays and Mondays with most started in the early evening through to 1am.

Research by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service over the last three years has revealed that many school incidents start in toilet blocks and storage rooms, but 25pc spread to classrooms and the rest of the building.

In this financial year it is expected that there will be more than 400 rubbish and grass fires in schools alone.

Vytas Krivinskas, operational director for education, has been left to deal with making sure that the Halton Lodge pupils will have somewhere to be taught when term starts in the New Year.

Mr Krivinskas said: "Our first priority is to make sure that the children do not miss too many school days, so we need to have plans in place for January.

"Several teams are looking at the issues and one of those will investigate temporary accommodation for the new year.

"We have decided to rebuild the school and another team is looking at that, but really that is our second priority.

"The local people have pulled together and are organising a Christmas party for the children in the next few days. They will only have missed less than a week of school in all."

Merseyside Fire Service has acted on the latest figures by setting up meetings with educational authorities to prevent school fires causing so much damage,

They are recommending that sprinkler systems be installed in all schools and have strongly disputed that the systems can accidentally go off causing water damage.

Presentations have already been given to Liverpool, Wirral, St Helens and Sefton authorities with a meeting planned with Knowsley officials by the New Year.