A village primary school is closed today and will not reopen until Thursday following heating failures.

Ickleford Primary School in Arlesey Road informed parents on Friday that the school would be closed today, tomorrow and Wednesday as contractors start work on installing a temporary boiler.

Headteacher Sue Dury took to the school's website blog and said: "Unfortunately, having now endured this week of falling temperatures with little sun - which warms the classrooms - and having followed the weather forecast over the weekend and into early next week, I have made the difficult decision in consultation with staff to close the school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Temperatures are predicted to drop overnight and not reach above 15°C through the day which will result in school not reaching a comfortable operational level for everyone to work in - children and staff inclusive."

It was announced last month that the school would receive funding from Herts County Council for repairs, after a report revealed it required £1 million worth of work.

North Herts District councillor Sam North had been campaigning for the school to receive the urgent work.

The Liberal Democract councillor said: "It's simply inexcusable that it's taken so long for the county council to address this issue, which they've known about since December last year.

"We need an immediate and longer term commitment from the county council, one that reassures parents that they actually do care about their children's education and futures. Time to demand better."

A spokeswoman for Herts County Council told the Comet: "We can confirm that Ickleford Primary School has taken the decision not to open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week for health and safety reasons.

"The council's contractors are utilising these three days to install a temporary heating system which will serve the school throughout the winter.

"We expect this to be fully up and running by the end of Wednesday.

"We did look at bringing in a number of electric heaters to help the school remain open during these three days but it was not possible to conduct the necessary electrical tests on the school's system in the time given.

"We continue to work closely with the school to facilitate the installation of a new, permanent heating system, which, due to the length of time this installation will take, will take place when the children are on school holidays next year."