Hoax bomb threat hits local schools

ARAMSBOTTOM mum has told of her panic after receiving news of a hoax bomb threat at her son’s school.

Police confirmed they received a number of malicious hoax threats towards local schools this week.

Schools across the UK received bomb threats on Tuesday, the National Crime Agency confirmed.

Bury council confirmed that a number of its local authority schools had received an email ransom threat about a bomb being placed on school transport.

Police advised they did not believe there to be a threat to schools or communities.

One Ramsbottom mum said she ‘flew into a blind panic’ after receiving two text messages - sent on behalf of the school - about a bomb threat to her five-year-old son’s primary.

She said: “The first text said they had had a hoax email today and the second one said please be assured that all procedures had been followed.

“I was getting panicky. I’m very rational but as a parent something like that hits you really hard.

“We just thought shall I just pull him out of school.

“My immediate concern was ‘how do they know this is a hoax?’”

In a statement, Bury council said: “An email was received by a significant number of school across the country, which included a number of Bury schools.

“Advice was sought from Greater Manchester Police as soon as the local authority became aware and information was immediately sent out to schools via the Emergency Planning Team.

“The following advice was sent out to schools: ‘For your information a number of schools across Bury have received an email threat about an explosive device being placed on school transport and seeking payment to be told how to remove the device. Greater Manchester Police have been contacted and have given advice that the threat has been assessed as ‘Standard’ and that the email has been received by schools nationwide.

“No evacuation is required. As the threat relates specifically to ‘school transport’, as a precautionary measure please direct any staff using school transport to check the vehicle prior to use. If anything suspicious is noticed then contact the police immediately on 999 to obtain further advice.’”

Chief Superintendent Wasim Chaudhry, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “We do not believe there to be any threat to our communities and would like to thank schools for remaining vigilant.”

Lancashire Police said they also received two reports of incidents, although Lancashire County Council said they were unaware of any incidents affecting their schools.

A National Crime Agency spokesman said: “We are aware of a number of threatening emails being sent to schools and are investigating alongside our partners in the police.”