The call is being treated as ‘malicious’ by police
Winterbourne Academy.(Image: Paul Gillis / Reach PLC)
A school was evacuated this morning (January 26) after a false alarm that a bomb had been left on the school grounds.
The incident at Winterbourne Academy was reported to Avon and Somerset Police at 8.13am this morning (Monday, January 26) .
The force said the school received a message over the weekend from an unknown caller who claimed that a bomb had been left somewhere on the grounds.
Police said there was no other information to support the claim, but attended the school out of “an abundance of caution”.
The decision to evacuate the students was not made by emergency services, the force added.
Police and school staff searched the site and nothing suspicious was found. Police said the call is being treated as malicious.
An investigation is underway to identify the person responsible for the call.
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: “At 8.13am today (26 January) we were made aware by staff at Winterbourne Academy that they had received a message over the weekend from an unknown person who claimed a bomb had been left somewhere on the school’s grounds.
“There was no other information to support this claim.
“Officers attended the school out of an abundance of caution and, with school staff, searched the site.
“Nothing suspicious was found and the call is being treated as malicious.
“As a precaution, students were evacuated by staff before returning to continue the school day.
“An investigation is underway to identify the person responsible for the call.”