Boy, 13, arrested over bomb hoaxes at six Southampton schools
Police said the hoaxes had a wide-ranging impact
A 13-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with bomb hoaxes which led to the evacuation of six schools in Southampton.
Police gave the all-clear after carrying out searches of all the sites on Wednesday.
The teenager from Southampton was detained on suspicion of communicating false information and has since been released on bail.
Phone calls indicating a bomb threat were received by Bitterne Park School, Banister Park School, Regents Park Community College, St Anne’s Catholic Girl’s Secondary School, Weston School and St George’s Catholic High School for Girls.
Superintendent Phil Lamb from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: "We understand the undue worry and concern that yesterday’s news would have caused in the community, especially among the students and the parents of those affected. It is clear that the incident had a wide-ranging impact within the community.
"Thankfully, it was very quickly established by our officers that these were not a credible threat and this was communicated to school leaders at the first available opportunity to provide further reassurance.
"We are clear that we will take robust action where necessary against those who seek to cause harm or distress in the local community and that there will be consequences.
"We hope that this will act as a deterrent for those who may have considered taking similar action in the future."