UK school bomb threat - the evacuations across the country
More than 400 schools across the UK received the email threat on Monday, according to police. The emails contained the following message: "We have sent a student in with a bomb. The bomb is set to go off in three hours. "If you do not send money we will blow up the device. If you try to call the cops we will blow up the device."
GETTY Many schools decided to evacuate students today
The threat, which is being treated as a hoax, is believed to have been sent to UK schools from the United States. Here is a roundup of the counties and schools affected by the hoax and how police forces have reacted across the UK. London Many of the capital’s schools have been affected by the hoax received on Monday morning, March 19. Hounslow Council confirmed that eight of its schools were affected. A spokesman for Hounslow Council said: "Initially we thought it was isolated to one school. But there are eight to date in Hounslow that we are aware of. I can’t say if they have all been evacuated. “We are monitoring the situation very closely, and working with the police and taking our lead from them." An Ealing Council spokesman said: “We know that schools have received a letter. They are aware of it and will be vigilant. "Police will visit each school that has reported receiving a threat. Schools remain open at this time.” John Sweeney, of Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School in Tolworth, wrote on Twitter: "News from OLI school #tolworth #surbiton "We have received a bomb threat which the Police have advised us to assume is a hoax. In line with our security policy we have evacuated the children who are all safe at Grand Avenue School. Some people! A Met Police spokesman said: “The Met has received a number of reports relating to malicious communications sent to schools across London on Monday, 19 March. "These are currently being treated as hoaxes. At this stage there is no evidence to suggest that this is terror-related." Schools in Sutton, Cheam, Kingston and Greenwich have also been evacuated. Hammersmith and Fulham Council says there has been one closure in the area.
GETTY A conflict between Minecraft gamers has been blamed for the attack
Northumbria Around 92 schools in the Newcastle region were sent the mass bomb hoax email demanding a cash payment, but no schools were evacuated. Northumbria Police said in a tweet: “We have had a number of calls this morning about a bomb hoax at many of our region’s schools. “All of the schools have been spoken to and there is not believed to be any viable threats”. The police force said they visited schools to reassure them that the incident is being treated as a hoax.
Hertfordshire Schools in Hertford, Watford, St Albans, Hemel Hempstead and Stevenage have been targeted by the hoax. The Valley School in Stevenage was the only school in the county that made the decision to evacuate after receiving the threat. The other schools to receive the threat were Abbots Hill in Hemel Hempstead, The Sele School in Hertford, Duncombe School in Hertford, Stanborough School in Watford and St Albans High School. Hertfordshire police force said: “We did not advise any schools ourselves to evacuate but The Valley School in Stevenage made the decision to evacuate and we sent officers to assist them.” Cumbria The shocking emails were sent to North Lakes Primary School in Penrith, Lakes College West Cumbria and Dowdales School in Dalton-in-Furness. Pupils at the schools in Penrith and Dalton were evacuated but those at the college were not. Headteacher at North Lakes Primary School, Mike Pincomb, said: “Because of the nature of the threat we contacted police. The police responded very quickly and they advised us to briefly evacuate the building which was done very calmly like a normal fire drill. Having evacuated the police then advised us it was safe to return to the building and safe to resume the day. "Pupils and staff acted quickly and calmly and got on with the day." Chief Superintendent Mark Pannone, of Cumbria Police, said: “I’d like to reassure members of the public that enquiries are being made into communications that have been sent to three Cumbrian schools. “It is strongly believed this is part of a national scam and there is no threat to the public. “Our advice to schools is if they receive such an email is do not panic and please seek police advice before taking any action.
9 schools in Lincolnshire have this morning reported to us that they have received a malicious communication, namely a bomb hoax. The email is a national hoax and an investigation into where it originated from will take place: https://t.co/Lgjszz2TRX — Lincolnshire Police (@lincspolice) March 19, 2018
Merseyside Around 10 schools in Liverpool were affected by the hoax and a kind-hearted restaurant manager even allowed evacuated students into his restaurant. St Cuthbert’s primary in Old Swan and St Sebastian’s Catholic Primary School were among the schools across the UK evacuated after the hoax bomb threats were made. A local restaurant, Chiquito, even closed for an hour so local pupil who were evacuated had somewhere to go. General manager of the restaurant on Edge Lane, Tom Pollard, said: “A teacher ran in panicking, she looked really worried and said she had nearly 200 pupils out in the cold and she needed somewhere for them to go. “We closed the restaurant so that they could come inside. It was manic but it was really nice, they were singing songs and playing games. It was a real community spirit. “From what I’ve been told the older kids are back in school but the younger ones have been sent home.” Liverpool City Council said: ““We have been liaising with Merseyside Police over this suspicious email and have passed on their advice to schools, which is to treat it as a hoax.”
GETTY Schools across the UK were affected by the hoax
Manchester Schools across Greater Manchester, including Rochdale, Tameside and Oldham, were also affected by the cruel hoax. Assistant Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine from Greater Manchester Police said: “We have have been working closely with schools this morning and have advised them to make contact with parents. “I understand the concern that this will have caused but we felt it was important to let parents know that we are aware of the reports and are taking action. “I want to reiterate that there is not believed to be any direct threat following these reports which at this stage, are believed to be malicious hoax communications. “We are looking into every single report and will continue to provide updates as soon as we can.” Dowson Primary School in Hyde, Tameside, issued a statement confirming it was one of the schools to have received a malicious email. Its headteacher wrote: “This morning, I worked with the police regarding a malicious communication that had come into school. “Acting upon advice of the police, I put school into a ‘lockdown’ situation for the safety of our children and staff. “Once the police had visited and were confident that there was no threat to school and its pupils, we resumed our normal working day.”
We have had a number of calls this morning about a bomb hoax at many of our region's schools. All of the schools have been spoken to and there is not believed to be any viable threats #ProudToProtect pic.twitter.com/iGafyMfAvx — Northumbria Police (@northumbriapol) March 19, 2018
Cambridgeshire A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said: “The email has been received by a number of schools in the county but no evacuations. “We have advised all schools in the country that this is a hoax”. Yorkshire A statement from North Yorkshire Police said: "We have had a number of reports this morning about a bomb hoax at many of our schools across the county. "This is believed to be a national issue. "Our Cybercrime Unit Detectives, supported by local officers, have looked at these incidents and it is not believed there is any genuine threat. We are working with schools to offer reassurance and address any concerns."