A SCHOOL providing a lifeline to hundreds of needy children has been bulldozed.

Armed police and government officials arrived in the middle of the night and smashed through classrooms, destroying blackboards, desks and exercise books.

Devastated youngsters came back from their holidays this week to find the building had been flattened – three months before their exams.

The primary school is funded by Asante charity coffee shop in Hampshire to support some of Kenya’s poorest children.

Since the coffee shop was launched in Romsey six years ago, generous tea and coffee lovers have helped them raise more than £250,000 for the Life Centre School in Nyawita, Kisumu and its nearby nursery, as well as accommodation for 25 orphans.

But the charity’s hard work was put to waste when it was destroyed as part of the Kenyan government’s Urban Clearance Programme, designed to wash away some of the country’s biggest slums.

Now Asante, which was founded by Paul and Shirley Barter, is calling for funds so they can rebuild the school in the same walled compound as the nursery.

Children and staff have been working tirelessly, since the school was flattened, to salvage books and equipment so that they can continue their education ahead of important exams pupils face in November.

They have saved four lorries-full of building materials and educational equipment.

But They will need £10,000 before work can begin rebuilding the six classrooms for the five to 15-year-olds.

Paul said: “We got a call from our worker in Kenya to say that overnight the local authority had been in with a bulldozer and demolished the primary school which is situated in a slum area and they did something that’s called urban clearance.

“The school is in a particularly bad slum area.

"They decided to blitz it. You don’t do that to a school in the middle of exams.

"To come at night with no notice what so ever is disgraceful.

“The children were disconcerted to hear that their school had been knocked down. It’s disrupting to the education programme.

"Some of them were preparing for their end of primary school exams.

“This year is the first year that class eight will sit their final exams.

“We have retrieved from the site all the materials and equipment we can and we have taken it to the nursery school site where we’re now talking to builders about putting up temporary primary school classrooms.”

The charity have already received £1,000 to help rebuild the school but they need another £9,000 before work can begin.

For more information or to donate visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HelpLifeCentre.