Teacher devastated as years of work stolen
A Fulbridge Primary School teacher is facing a summer of hard graft after the heartache of having four years of irreplaceable work stolen during a burglary at his home.
A Fulbridge Primary School teacher is facing a summer of hard graft after the heartache of having four years of irreplaceable work stolen during a burglary at his home.Ben Erskine (26), a Year 6 teacher at the school, in Keeton Road, Peterborough, said it would take "years" to get back all of his resources and assignments.
It was in the early hours of Friday morning, between midnight and 2am, when the burglars snuck into his Werrington Park Avenue home, in Werrington, while his family were sleeping.
They stole three laptops – all property of the school – and Ben's distinctive Lion King bag, which had back-up files, his wallet and music player inside.
The keys to the school were also taken, forcing Ben's father, Iain Erskine (55), who is headteacher at the school and also lives at the address, to replace all the school's locks.
It is believed the total cost of the burglary to the family and the school could be as much as 2,000, with the three laptops alone worth in the region of 1,500.
"Ben has lost about four years of work and resources," said Iain Erskine, adding: "So he's now got a whole summer of incredibly hard work to record all that he's lost.
"He had all of his teaching resources, pictures of the children and Powerpoint presentations on his laptop. Most of it just can not be replaced.
"We discovered it in the morning, at about 6am, when we woke to find the front door was just left open. After a few minutes, Ben was so upset he just collapsed on the floor.
"When you start teaching, you put everything into it, it's your life because you're so keen to get it right. But all of that hard work is now gone."
Ben, who has been a teacher at the school for four years, added: "I'm just gutted and I just think it will take years to get it all back, just doing it all again.
"With teaching, most of things you can use again and again by just updating them, but now I've got to start all over again."
In the aftermath of the discovery, specialist crime scene investigators visited the Erskines' home to conduct detailed finger print searches, while police conducted door-to-door enquires.
Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to call police on 0345 456 4564, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
Email to a friend
Print this page - Popular
- Most comments
- Most shared
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Local pages
Looking for a...
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 20 March 2010
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C - 13 C
Wind Speed: 18 Knots
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C - 12 C
Wind Speed: 12 Knots
Wind direction: West
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.