A teenage boy has been arrested after a bomb threat forced the evacuation of a Warwick school.
Warwickshire Police said officers investigating threats made to Myton School arrested a male teenager from Leamington on suspicion of making a bomb hoax. According to the school, staff had received a "vague threat via email", prompting officers to complete a full search of the building before handing it back to them. The school, which is open today for exams only, will be updating parents, staff and pupils on its plans for reopening.
Chief Inspector Faz Chishty, local policing commander for south Warwickshire, said: “We appreciate the concern and disruption caused to pupils, staff and the local community and I would like to thank you all for your patience and understanding. Our primary concern is always the safety of staff and pupils and I’d thank them for the exemplary way they responded.
“Following a search of the site we are now satisfied it is safe for staff and pupils to return to the building. The school will be communicating with parents on plans for reopening so please follow their directions. We are aware of another message being shared widely on social media and messaging services amongst parents and staff. We are not linking this to the original threat made to the school and believe there is no risk posed.
The school will be updating parents on its plans for reopening (BPM Media)“We will be maintaining a high police presence in the area over the coming days to provide reassurance to staff, pupils, and parents. If you have any concerns, please talk to one of my officers.”
Inside WW1 military hospital abandoned for decades before new lease of life
At around 4:45pm, the school shared an update that all of its students were safe and with their families, and that police remained on-site. It said: "Thank you again for your assistance today in getting all of our students safely off-site."
The incident follows a series of concerning threats made to schools across the UK, one of which involved the safety of pupils being threatened by email. In April, a school in Rochdale, Manchester, was evacuated after it received 'threatening messages' by email. Parents were warned not to approach Matthew Moss High School, where pupils were evacuated "as a precaution".
In November last year, a south London school rushed to evacuate students two times in just four days after police carried out an urgent search over a chilling bomb threat. Oaks Park High School in Carshalton told teachers to immediately take pupils to the playing fields following the bomb claim. The school sent parents a text message shortly after 8am this morning (November 20) and wrote: “The police have asked us to evacuate the school this morning after receiving an identical threat as on Friday at the same time.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
