ALMOST one school a day is being raided in Huddersfield by burglars, police have revealed.

Intruders have carried out about 30 crimes in schools since the start of October and one school has been attacked three times this week.

It has also emerged that the burglars are often stealing overhead projectors and then using them at home to play video games such as PlayStations.

Overhead projectors cost about £1,500 each and are now a vital part of classroom teaching, yet it can take weeks to replace those that are stolen while waiting for an insurance payout.

Three have been stolen in separate burglaries at Reinwood Infant and Nursery School on Burfitts Road in Oakes with the final raid happening at about 11.30pm last night.

Police have now made a direct plea to people for help in catching the thieves who are blighting their children's education.

Det Con Russ Conlon, of Kirklees CID intelligence unit, said: "Information we have is that these projectors are being installed in homes and directed at blank walls so the games can then be played on a vast screen.

"Clearly there must be many people out there who know where these projectors are and who is responsible for the crimes."

And he had a strong warning to people caught after buying the projectors from the thieves.

"Many of these projectors can be traced back to where they were stolen from," he said.

Some people are thought to have even painted one wall white in their homes to get the best effect from the projector.

It is thought no single gang is carrying out the raids - it is burglars most probably in the areas where the schools have been targeted.

These are across Huddersfield from the Colne Valley to Rawthorpe and from schools right out in the countryside to those close to Huddersfield town centre.

Intruders first slipped into Reinwood Infant and Nursery School between 8.05am and 8.25am on Monday and stole an overhead projector, simply pulling it out of the ceiling.

Between 1am and 1.15am on Tuesday a second projector was taken by burglars who broke into the school through a window.

They came back a third time late last night, forcing a window to get in. The police helicopter swooped overhead after officers were alerted, but the burglars had escaped with the silver and grey Philips projector.

A spokeswoman for the school said: "We use these projectors every day and they are a crucial part of teaching.

"They are linked to computers so data, photographs and DVDs can be projected via the machine on to a whiteboard."

Contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or Huddersfield police helpdesk on 01484 436659.