A TEENAGE girl who caused more than £500,000 damage when she set fire to Fareham’s Henry Cort Community College has not been locked up.

The 13-year-old was spared a custodial sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of arson. Portsmouth Crown Court heard all 630 pupils had to be evacuated when smoke alarms went off and it took firefighters more than 30 minutes to bring the flames under control.

The girl responsible – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – had, with another girl, drunk a bottle of wine and set fire to toilet rolls and aprons in an empty design and technology classroom.

The damaged classrooms were replaced in November when a smart new technology block with state-of-the-art equipment opened at the school.

Sentencing her to a 12-month supervision order, Judge Richard Price said: “If you ever, ever do anything like this again, you will be locked up. You caused half-a-million pounds worth of damage. Two things saved you – you are genuinely sorry for what you did, and you told the police the truth.”

Next week a second girl, also charged with arson, is due to be committed to the court for sentencing.