School on lockdown over 'urgent incident' with parents told to stay away
A secondary school in Kent has closed after reports of an email threat.
Parents have been told to keep their children away from Astor Secondary School in Dover after alleged threatening messages were sent.
The school on Astor Avenue warned parents of the urgent incident today, saying they should not send children in, KentOnline reports.
The police described the incident as a 'non-credible threat.'
In a statement, the college said it needs 'to be thoroughly checked.'
It continues: 'We have been advised for the site to be cleared of staff and students immediately with further updates to follow.
'We will be sending students home that have already arrived; should there be any difficulties with this we will contact you directly. Please check with your child directly that they are aware of where they need to go.'
The police said it received a report of the school receiving 'an email making threats' at about 7.37am today.
A police spokesperson said: 'Officers attended to advise staff and provide reassurance.
'The email is being treated as a non-credible threat and enquiries into the correspondence are ongoing.' More Trending
Metro understands that an evacuation was started shortly before 8am so that a thorough search could be carried out as a precaution.
We approached the school and the council for a comment.
In an unrelated incident, a school in Gateshead was forced into a lockdown in March after 'threatening emails.'
Cardinal Hume Catholic School pupils were kept in as a precaution after hoax emails caused concern.
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