Facebook users in spin as spider sets off alarm at local school

PEOPLE thought a school had been ram-raided when rumours started to circulate on social media – but staff said it was likely a spider had just set off the alarm.

With the police helicopter in the air at around 7.30pm on Thursday, residents feared the worst and posts began to appear on Facebook.

Some people even reported that the “thieves” had got lost while trying to escape from Pil Primary School, in Pyle, near Bridgend, and had run into a dead end where they were captured by officers.

However, the truth turned out almost stranger than fiction. There was no ram raid. The school’s burglar alarm had gone off and there was a police helicopter in the air, but that there had been no break-in or ram raid.

Instead, staff think a spider – or possibly a fly or a window blind moving in a draft of air – triggered a highly-sensitive sensor.

As for the police helicopter’s presence in the area, South Wales Police said it had been called to investigate “unusual sounds that were concerning a local resident”.

But following a search of the area the police gave the all clear.

Pil Primary head teacher Neil Pryce said: “I can reassure parents and people living near the school that there was no break-in last night.

“We have a comprehensive CCTV security system in place that offers 360 degree views of the premises as well as internal cameras, and the sensors can detect the slightest movement.

“When the alarm went off, staff and South Wales Police responded promptly and were able to quickly confirm that it had been triggered possibly either by a spider or a fly moving across a sensor, or by window blinds moving in a draft of air.”