Schools in Lancashire receive 'bomb threat' hoax email

The email, which was received today at a school in Preston and another in East Lancashire, alarmingly threatened to detonate a bomb unless its demand for thousands of dollars was met.

The hoax has been received in schools in Manchester, London, Cambridgeshire as well as many other parts of the country, prompting many to evacuate students and staff.

It is not known whether any schools in Lancashire were evacuated.

Police in Lancashire have confirmed that there is not thought to be any direct threat to schools. Specialist officers are said to be working to determine the nature of the reports and are speaking directly with the schools and local authorities.A police spokesman said: “I understand that this may cause concern and I want to assure people that we are working closely with all of the schools to ensure the safety of pupils and staff. “We are carrying out extensive enquiries to understand the full circumstances and although there is not currently believed to be any direct threat, as with any report of this nature, they are all being thoroughly investigated.“This is an on-going incident and we will provide updates as soon as we can.”