A teenage friend of a boy accused of setting fire to a school told a jury he laughed when he heard about the arson attack.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has denied charges of arson and burglary at a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

He is accused of breaking into Tideway School, Newhaven, at about midnight on April 4 and setting fire to a bundle of papers in the staff room before stealing a can of Coke, some biscuits and a sachet of soup.

The fire caused damage estimated at £3 million and firefighters battled the blaze for hours.

The prosecution claims the boy, who lives in Newhaven, confessed to friends minutes after starting the fire.

But he claims another teenager started the blaze and has tried to frame him.

At the start of the second week of the trial, a friend of the defendant gave evidence for the defence.

The teenager told the jury he had known the defendant from junior school but they were not close friends and had fallen out in the past.

He said he heard about the fire from his aunt the day after the blaze.

He said: "I thought it was funny because I used to go to that school and I didn't like it."

He said he saw the defendant a couple of days later and was told the police had raided the defendant's home and he had been arrested on suspicion of arson.

He denied the defendant had told him he had set fire to the school.

John Fairhead, prosecuting, said to him: "I suggest you are not telling the truth because you don't want to grass up your mate."

The teenager disagreed and said he had had loads of fights with the defendant.

He said: "If he had done it I would have grassed him up."

The trial continues.