Parents ‘petrified’ after malicious emails sent to schools in North West

An investigation is under way after malicious emails were sent to a number of schools in the North West, police have said.

Both Cheshire Police and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said they were looking into the messages.

A parent with a child at one of the schools affected said she’d been “petrified” when she heard the news.

Speaking to Sky News’ Katerina Vittozzi, the parent – who asked not to be named – said: “I always thought it was much safer when the children were in school. It just reminded me of incidents in schools in America.”

The mum said she’d first heard the news via a parents’ WhatsApp group.

She later received an email from her child’s school detailing what had happened, and that police were now involved.

“It may not be anything,” she said, “it might be just some person who’s pulling a prank but it’s so scary and all I could think about was when can I get to school and pick my child up.”

“I also can’t stop thinking – who would have done this? What is the purpose of this?”

Has your school been affected? Email us at news@skynews.com.

Lache Primary School, in Chester, initially notified parents on its Facebook page that they would be unable to pick up their children after a message had been received.

In a statement, it said: “We are aware that parents have arrived outside school.

“To repeat, we cannot let any children out or any parents in. As we have stated, this is a precautionary measure following an unpleasant email that has been sent to a number of schools in Cheshire, Liverpool and Manchester.

“There is not a threat on site. We have locked down the school to ensure that everyone is safe. Which they are.

“The police are dealing with the situation and are very happy with the measures that we have in place.”

It later changed that advice, saying the email was “believed to be a malicious hoax” and children would be allowed to leave by year group.

Blacon High School, also in Chester, said it had put additional measures in place after receiving the email, but added: “For reassurance, Blacon High School is not currently in lockdown.”

In a statement, Cheshire Police said it was “aware of an email which had been sent to a number of schools in Chester and Ellesmere Port which made threats to pupils and staff”.

It added: “An investigation has been launched and officers have been attending schools to provide reassurance.”

Detective Chief Inspector Justin Hancock said: “We would like to reassure parents that this is believed to be malicious and we are doing everything we can to locate the person responsible for these emails.”

GMP said it was looking into “reports of malicious communications being sent to schools across the city of Manchester”.

It added: “The reports are currently being investigated to ensure the safety of schools and local communities.”

Chief Inspector Chris Boyd said: “We take reports of this nature very seriously and whilst we have not advised any schools to close, our officers will nevertheless be stepping up their high-visibility presence around schools at the end of the day today to provide reassurance to them and the wider public.”