ALTON police are seeking witnesses to a fire at Amery Hill School which completely destroyed two minibuses.

The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning is being treated as arson - and it will cost the school dear.

Shocked and angered by what he described as "mindless vandalism", headteacher Stephen Crabtree is looking at a replacement bill of £25,000 for just one bus. And that will not cover the inconvenience and the cost of hiring substitute transport while the matter is sorted out.

Although police are not thought to be linking the incidents, the Amery Hill fire follows hard on the heels of an arson attack at Eggar's School on September 26 which caused £100,000 worth of damage to two classrooms.

A police spokesperson has pointed out that at Eggar's the fire was started in a rubbish bin and could have been a prank which went seriously wrong. The Amery Hill incident was potentially more harmful in that the engine fuel tanks could have exploded, presenting considerable danger both to the perpetrator(s) and neighbouring residents and property.

Both incidents, however, follow a rising trend within Hampshire of arson at schools, leading to increased call-outs for Hampshire Fire and Rescue service.

In the case of Amery Hill, two fire crews from Alton were called to the scene at 1-20 am on Sunday to find one vehicle totally destroyed and the other well alight.

According to Alton station commander Steve May, the buses had been parked together and when the first was torched the wind direction would have blown the flames on to the other.

The blaze took around half an hour to extinguish and a thorough investigation was then undertaken. "We gather from our search that the first minibus was deliberately set alight," said leading fire officer May.

Stephen Crabtree was staggered by the futility of the incident. "I can't see the point of it. It was mindless.

"The parents and PTA raised a lot of money to buy that bus so the children could use it, and they do use it a lot, for all sorts of things."

He confirmed that the two buses - the Amery Hill mini-bus which was the first to be torched, and a second bus which had been hired for a school field trip - had been standing next to one another in the playground close to the Old Odiham Road entrance to the school.

At the time the gates at the site were locked so access would probably have been over the fence.

"Fortunately the vehicles were parked well away from the buildings or the fire could have had unimaginable consequences," said Mr Crabtree. "As it is, both buses are a write off."

The school mini-bus, which is six years old is covered by insurance but that, said the head, would not pay out the £25,000 needed if the decision is taken to replace the bus with a new one. An alternative could, he added, be to lease, but that was a decision yet to be taken.

The second mini-bus had been hired for a geography field trip and that would be dealt with under the hire company's insurance cover.

On Monday, following an hour's ringing around, two more buses were found and planned trips went ahead but, said Mr Crabtree, the incident had left staff and children upset and puzzled by the motive behind the torching.

The Amery Hill School campus is surrounded by residential buildings and it is thought someone may have seen the offender(s) running from the scene. Anyone with information is asked to call Pc Lucy Eascott on 0845 045 4545.

Stephen Crabtree also expressed his thanks to the person who raised the alarm.