POOLBROOK Primary School in Malvern has escaped with minor damage after pranksters put a lit firework through a letterbox.

Police and the fire brigade were called to the school last Wednesday night (October 16) at around 10.30pm after someone let off a rocket into the foyer.

Two appliances and 11 firefighters attended the scene, discovering smoke but no fire.

Only minimal damage was caused, but it could have been much worse according to leading firefighter Keith Massam from Malvern Fire Station.

"They were incredibly lucky really," he said. "The burglar alarm went off, which let people know something was going on."

Head Gill Samuels said the letterbox had been boarded up and the school was now paying for mail to be delivered at a different time.

"It's very inconvenient," she said.

"We've not had trouble with fireworks before, but we quite often have vandalism damage around the school."

She admitted she did not know what could be done to prevent further vandalism.

"We alert the police but it's very difficult to keep on top of."

Local beat manager PC Paul Lambon said that he would be working with the school to try and solve the latest case, but also liaising with shopkeepers to inform them on the rules and regulations surrounding fireworks.

"It's a perennial problem," he said.

Andy Dugard, community fire safety officer at Malvern Fire Station said that parental control was the key to stopping similar incidents from happening in the future.

He urged people not to let their children buy fireworks and advised then to attend organised displays.