Schoolchildren were evacuated today as four London schools, four in Cornwall, and a further six in the West Midlands received bomb threats.
Metropolitan Police have confirmed a bomb scare affecting two schools in Merton, but gave no details about which schools were affected. A parent of one contacted the Wimbledon Guardian to say his daughter had been evacuated from Ricards Lodge High School in Lake Road, Wimbledon. He said:
“It seems very serious. Police said it was a bomb scare.
“At first the police were trying to play it down and say they get these things from time to time, but then they started moving more swiftly and more police arrived, and the kids got moved away more.”
According to the Wimbledon Guardian police are now saying they were treating the Merton bomb threats as a “malicious communication” or a hoax. He said:
“We received a call about a suspicious device at the schools. It’s being treated as a malicious communication at this time, but we have to treat it with caution and investigate.
“We are investigating to make sure it is what we think it is.”
Raynes Park High School and two other schools in other parts of London, one in the south east and one in the north west, were also evacuated this morning. The incidents were stood down, with no devices having been uncovered, shortly after 10.30am.
Police in Cornwall said secondary schools in Penzance, St Ives and Truro received bomb threats at about 8am today, resulting in evacuations. By 9am police in attendance said there was no no risk to children or staff. Devon and Cornwall Police said enquiries are continuing.
Reports of similar threats in the Midlands have also surfaced. West Midlands police said “police intelligence suggests there is no credible threat behind the calls” to any schools in their region, after bomb threats were made just after 9am to four schools in Sandwell, one in Dudley and one in south Birmingham.
The affected schools are Oldbury Academy (pictured above) and Bristnall Hall Academy in Oldbury, Holly Lodge High in Smethwick, George Slater High School in West Bromwich, Earls High School in Halesowen, and Four Dwellings Upper School in Quinton.
Explaining that there is no credible threat, Assistant Chief Constable Carl Foulkes said: “They mirror the hoaxes several schools received just a few days ago [as reported by Breitbart News].
“Local police officers have been sent to the affected schools to carry out checks and to offer reassurance.
“A police investigation is underway to find the person responsible for the calls.”