Columbine High School could be demolished to stop it inspiring massacre fanatics

Columbine High School, the scene of one of America's most notorious mass shootings, could be demolished. 

Authorities in Colorado are assessing support for the school to be knocked down and rebuilt elsewhere, saying the building has remained a "source of inspiration" for those with a morbid fascination with the shooting.

Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher in the 1999 massacre.

After going on a killing spree in the school, the teenagers exchanged fire with police and then turned their guns on themselves.

The number of people trespassing on the school's grounds has reached a high this year - the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, said Jefferson County schools superintendent Jason Glass.

The 1999 massacre has sparked a number of attempted copycat attacks.

In April, the FBI began tracking down a teenager who was "infatuated" with the mass shooting and appeared to be planning an attack.

Sol Pais, 18, had travelled to Colorado from Miami and bought weapons from a store, but was later found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In the UK, two schoolboys were found guilty of conspiracy to murder after plotting a Columbine-style attack on a North Yorkshire school.

The boys were said to have "hero-worshipped" the attackers and had put together a "hit list" of people they wanted to kill.

The former girlfriend of one of the boys claimed he described her as his "Dylan Klebold".

The district of Colorado has now released a survey to gauge support for a Columbine construction project up to the value of $70m (£55m).

One idea is to preserve the library built after the massacre and incorporate it into a new school building.

Earlier this year, a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the attack was held in a park near the school.

The names of the 13 victims were read out and white doves released into the sky.