CHARGES of arson and burglary against an Otley teenager were not proven at Leeds Youth Court last week.

The 15-year-old, who was 14 when arrested and cannot be named for legal reasons, had been facing charges relating to a break-in and fire at Prince Henry's Grammar School last August.

Last Wednesday the court heard police evidence that the girl, whose initials were found scrawled on a whiteboard in the classroom where the fire started, had shouted "it was me, I burnt the school" when arrested.

But the following day magistrates heard that three eye witnesses had been with her when the blaze is believed to have begun.

That evidence proved crucial.

An Otley man said he saw the teenager slumped drunk against the wall of the toilet block in Farnley Lane at about 9.30pm.

She was "in a terrible state", wet, dishevelled and muddy. She did not smell of smoke, just alcohol.

He told the court he was with her when he heard sirens and he later saw fire engines at the school.

He said that either himself or other adults were with the teenager until around 10.30pm.

A relative of the girl said she was given a lift to the toilet block to try to persuade the teenager to go home.

She said the teenager was sitting on the ground. She was lashing out and very abusive. She was very drunk and tried to walk out in front of cars.

When she left the girl at about 10.30pm the teenager was walking towards the caf in the park.

The girl's solicitor, Paul Lee told magistrates that the girl had a very strong alibi for the time the fire was started.

He said: "There can be no possibility that she started this fire. She had no opportunity to get to that school annexe to start the fire."

He said that her apparent confession to the police: "it was me. I burnt the school" was made by a very drunk 14-year-old girl who did not state which school.

Also, two more fires were started that night in Otley after the girl was arrested. On the burglary charge, Mr Lee said that no-one saw the girl take any tinsel from the school and it was not reported that any was ever missing.

Magistrates found that neither matter was proved.

They ruled that the girl had an alibi for the time when the fire was started.

They said it was accepted that she was in the school building earlier that evening but there was no evidence from the school that any tinsel had been taken.