Leave lights on for the vandals: Council has 'duty of care' to protect intruders from school hazards

But the illogical illumination is no accident.

Almost unbelievably, the bulbs are being deliberately left burning so that vandals don't hurt themselves when they break in.

Taxpayers are being forced to foot the electricity bill and environmentalists have described the decision as absurd.

However, officials at the council responsible for the school say they have a "duty of care" to protect intruders from hazards.

Dalkeith High School in Midlothian, a listed building, has been empty since 2003.

"Some lights - including some on timers - are left on during the winter months to protect potential intruders from fall hazards," said a spokesman for Midlothian Council.

Maintenance of the school has cost £13,000 since its closure, with £10,000 spent on security and £3,000 on lighting.

A former Conservative candidate for the Scottish Parliament, P J Lewis, criticised the way the council had looked after the school.

"It typifies the shoddy way the council runs its assets and has handled Dalkeith High School in particular," he said. "All the lights are on and there is no adequate management of access or controls against vandalism.

"It's shocking, an unbelievable triple whammy, with fire risk, expense and environmental waste."

He said there is nothing to stop vandals driving on to the grounds of the former school and breaking the windows there.

Ian Baxter, of the Green Party, said it is "absurd" that the lights are left on for trespassers.

He added: "I would rather see our streets lit up to make it safer for people walking down them."

The council believes it is now nearing an agreement with Wimpey Homes to sell off the site.

The spokesman said: "The old Dalkeith High School site has been under offer to Wimpey Homes since November 2004. Responsibility for the security of the building remains with the council until the building is sold."

The council said it has to make sure that any intruders are not hurt. "As owners of the property, we have an obligation to do this under a common law duty of care and in addition have a statutory duty to do so imposed by the Occupier's Liability ( Scotland) Act 1960," the spokesman insisted.

"A risk assessment was carried out on the property at the time of its closure.

"This resulted in the boarding up of all ground floor windows to prevent access, retention of an operating burglar alarm and the carrying out of daily inspections of the property.

"In addition, a security company carries out mobile visits twice a night."

The school was abandoned in 2003 when pupils moved to Scotland's first shared-campus school. Children from St David's Roman Catholic High School joined them at the new Dalkeith Schools Community Campus in Midlothian.