Monday 19 March 2018

North Solihull schools among those targeted by bomb hoax

SCHOOLS in North Solihull were among hundreds around the UK to have been caught up in a bomb hoax earlier today (Monday).
Castle Bromwich Junior School and Yorkswood Primary, in Kingshurst, are understood to be among more than 400 sites which received an email threatening to detonate an explosive on school grounds unless money was handed over.
Yorkswood's headteacher, Andy Tunstall, sent a message to parents to advise that pupils had been evacuated to the school field.
He said that despite police advice that the threat was not credible, concerned parents were able to collect their children.
Castle Bromwich Juniors issued a statement on its website which advised mums and dads that the school would open as usual tomorrow.
It's understood the malicious email had been "spoofed" to appear as if it had come from a US-based video game server, with the BBC reporting that the company concerned suspected that the message may have been sent by a disgruntled player who was looking to damage the firm's reputation.
In a tweet earlier today, the server said:  "We have nothing to do with the bomb threats that were sent out to the 400+ UK schools.
"We're extremely sorry for anyone who had to deal with this, but just know it's fake."
West Midlands Police confirmed that emails started to arrive in school inboxes at around 9.45am.
A spokesman said: "There is nothing to suggest there is any credible threat to any of the schools. A police investigation is ongoing to find those responsible."
The hoax affected schools across areas including the West Midlands, London, Manchester and North Yorkshire.

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