Schools plunged into lockdown as armed cops hunt ‘man with machete' roaming streets – as suspect, 34, arrested
MULTIPLE schools were placed in lockdown after a 34-year-old man "armed with a machete" was arrested by police.
Cops scrambled to the scene as chaos descended in the Stonydelph area of Tamworth, Staffordshire, just before 9am today.
Armed officers were summoned to the area as a police helicopter was seen whirring overhead.
Staffordshire Police confirmed officers arrested a 34-year-old man, from Glascote, on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.
A machete was also recovered at the scene, said the force.
Schools were placed in lockdown, with Stoneydelph Primary confirming it swiftly instigated procedure.
It is understood that several other schools in the area were placed into lockdown, including Three Peaks Primary Academy.
A spokeswoman for Stonydelph Primary said: 'At the start of the school day, we received a concerning report involving an unknown man in the vicinity of the school.
'Police were quick to respond and following their advice and school policy, we entered into a lockdown which is known to, and well-practised by, both children and staff.'
Parents of the school have been informed of the incident and kept updated throughout.
Cops said there were no injuries and that local schools had been updated.
A Staffordshire Police spokeswoman stated: "We were called at 8.43am to reports of a man with a machete on Silver Link Road and Crowden Road. No one was reported injured.
"Local officers, together with firearms officers and the National Police Air Service helicopter, were in the area searching for the man.
"A 34-year-old man, from Glascote, Tamworth, was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.
"A machete has been recovered. Local schools have been updated."
1
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Abbott calls Starmer's immigration comments ‘fundamentally racist' at rally
Backbench Labour MP Diane Abbott has criticised Sir Keir Starmer's comments on immigration as 'fundamentally racist' at a protest rally, suggesting the Government was copying the rhetoric of Reform UK. Thousands of trade unionists, campaigners and activists gathered to 'send a message' to the Government at a demonstration over spending cuts and welfare reform in central London on Saturday. Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Ms Abbott were among those who gave speeches at the rally outside Downing Street following a march. Organisers The People's Assembly accused the Government of making spending cuts that target the poorest in society. The Prime Minister said the UK risked becoming 'an island of strangers' when he unveiled plans for tighter controls on immigration in a major speech last month, leading to a mixed reaction from different parties. Addressing the protest crowd in Whitehall, Ms Abbott – who was previously suspended by Labour in 2023 before being allowed to run in last year's general election – said there was an international struggle to 'fight the rich and the powerful (and) to fight the racists', including in her own party. The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP said: 'I was very disturbed to hear Keir Starmer on the subject of immigration. 'He talked about closing the book on a squalid chapter for our politics – immigrants represent a squalid chapter. 'He talked about how he thought immigration has done incalculable damage to this green and pleasant land, which, of course, is nonsense – immigrants built this land. 'And, finally, he said we risk becoming an island of strangers. 'I thought that was a fundamentally racist thing to say. It is contrary to Britain's history. 'My parents came to this country in the 50s. They were not strangers. They helped to build this country. 'I think Keir Starmer is quite wrong to say that the way that you beat Reform is to copy Reform.' Reform's leader Nigel Farage previously said his party 'very much enjoyed' Sir Keir's speech, as it showed he was 'learning a great deal' from them. Representatives from the National Education Union, Revolutionary Communist Party, Green Party and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union could be seen at the demonstration's start point in Portland Place. The large crowd then set off towards Whitehall shortly before 1pm. Many of the protesters were holding placards that read 'Tax the rich, stop the cuts – welfare not warfare'. Other signs being held aloft said 'Nurses not nukes' and 'Cut war, not welfare'. Mr Corbyn, who also criticised Sir Keir's 'island of strangers' comments, told protesters at the rally: 'As the wars rage around the world – the killing fields in Ukraine and Russia, the abominable, deliberate starvation of children in Gaza and the genocide that's inflicted against the Palestinian people continues – surely to goodness we need a world of peace. 'We need a world of peace that will come through the vision of peace, the vision of disarmament and the vision of actually challenging the causes of war, which leads to the desperation and the refugee flows of today.' The Independent MP for Islington North urged protesters to 'go forward as a movement of hope, of what we can achieve together (and) the society we can build together'. The People's Assembly said trade unionists, health, disability, housing and welfare campaigners with community organisations came together for the protest under the slogan 'No to Austerity2.0'. A spokesperson said: 'The adherence to 'fiscal rules' traps us in a public service funding crisis, increasing poverty, worsening mental health and freezing public sector pay. 'Scrapping winter fuel payments, keeping the Tory two-child benefit cap, abandoning Waspi women, cutting £5 billion of welfare by limiting Pip and universal credit eligibility, and slashing UK foreign aid from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP, while increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, are presented as 'tough choices'. 'Real tough choices would be for a Labour government to tax the rich and their hidden wealth, to fund public services, fair pay, investment in communities and the NHS.'
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
Woman, 94, seriously hurt after being hit by car in Wallasey
A 94-year-old woman has been seriously injured after being hit by a car on pedestrian was struck by a black Mini Cooper Countryman car on St Albans Road, Wallasey, Wirral at about 12:25 BST, Merseyside Police was taken to hospital where she is being treated for her 89-year-old driver of the car stopped at the scene and has been helping officers with their inquiries, the force said. One lane of St Albans Road has been closed while investigations are carried out to establish what happened. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Medical student who was paralysed when man fell 120 feet onto her from shopping centre third floor says: 'I wouldn't change a thing'
Grace Spence Green was just 22 years old when a man plummeted from 120 feet and landed directly on top of her, crushing her spine and leaving her paralysed. The medical student had been walking through Westfield shopping centre in east London when the intoxicated man leapt from the third-floor balcony and violently collided into her. Her next memory was waking up on the floor screaming, frantically telling those around her that she had no feeling in her legs. Ms Green, who was later taken to surgery, had been left with a broken spine, paralysing her from the chest down. Meanwhile, the man who had fallen on top of her, Amsumana Sillah Trawally, had suffered a mere leg fracture. Following the incident in October 2018, he has since been deported. The 25-year-old was jailed in 2019 for four years after admitting causing grievous bodily harm. It was concluded that he had likely been under the influence of cannabis at the time he vaulted the third floor barrier at Westfield Stratford. Recalling the day of the terrifying crash in a previous Radio 4 interview with Jane Garvey, Ms Green said: 'It was the most surreal, bizarre experience. I can't describe waking up when you thought you were already awake. 'Because it was Westfield and state-of-the-art, all I could see was this brilliant white light. It felt like I was in a dream or in heaven or something. 'Apparently I was out for about eight minutes. 'My first thought was this brilliant white ceiling, then my second thought was, "oh my god I can't feel my legs." 'It really did feel like that movie scene you see. Then, as you say, I realised I was the one screaming. I remember screaming to the police officers nearby me screaming, "I can't feel my legs." 'I was desperately trying to tell them something was wrong. It was the absence of feeling that was the shocking thing. It was like my legs just ceased to exist. I always describe it as like when you unplug a cord. It felt like I'd been unplugged from half of my body.' Ms Green was immediately rushed to King's College Hospital where she underwent eight hours of spinal surgery. Titanium was then bolted into her spine in a bid to keep her shattered vertebrae in place. After an initial two weeks in hospital, the then trainee doctor was later admitted to the Royal National Orthopaedic hospital in Stanmore, Middlesex. There, she endured endless nights of desperately trying to wiggle a toe, learning the skills required to navigate life in a wheelchair and eventually coming to terms with her new reality. Now, nearly seven years on, in her new book To Exist As I Am, the now 29-year-old has relived the horrendous experience, alongside her road towards a mental and physical recovery. But, despite the trauma of her life-changing ordeal, Ms Green insists that she still wouldn't change a thing. Speaking to The Mirror, she said: 'As the years went by, what I gained through my disability, how it's changed me, the relationships that have changed - I can now say I wouldn't change it because of all I've gained from it'. Remarkably, she also doesn't harbour any bitterness towards the man responsible for her injury. Adding that she had taken comfort in the fact that she likely saved Trawally's life, she said: 'That made it much easier to start navigating all of the emotions I felt because what I was going through was really difficult. But I wouldn't have changed it'. Ms Green added that while she had initially experienced a 'sense of denial' towards her injury, her partner of three years, Nathan, was by her side throughout it all. The couple are set to marry in July. Describing her beloved partner as a 'constant' source of strength, she said: 'It always felt like we were dealing with this together. It wasn't just my burden to bear'. 10 months after her injury, Ms Green returned to medical school. Since graduating in 2021, she has now begun her career as a doctor. Not once, even at her lowest point, did she consider giving up her aspiration for a career in medicine. Now, she hopes to use her traumatic injury as an opportunity to inspire and advocate for other disabled individuals who can face a daily barrage of micro-aggressions and inappropriate comments. Believing that disability remains a highly stigmatised topic in society, she feels assured that while challenging, sharing her vulnerable experience offers a unique chance for others to listen and learn.
