BREAKING: Newcastle school 'incident': Police rush to scene as secondary shuts for 'foreseeable future'
BREAKING: Newcastle school 'incident': Police rush to scene as secondary shuts for 'foreseeable future'
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Police have been called to a school in Newcastle over a 'malicious email' which has seen the school closed for the 'foreseeable'. Benfield School closed on Tuesday morning over the incident following reports of "malicious communications" sent via email. The school was evacuated earlier on Tuesday for 'health and safety' reasons following the email, details of which have not been released.
A statement issued by the school said: "Due to a Health and Safety Emergency Benfield has been closed. We will keep you informed through the usual channels of any updates of when the school will re-open. Apologies for the inconvenience.". Northumbria Police were alerted to reports of malicious communications directed at the school at around 7.50am. This was due to an email sent overnight, ChronicleLive reports.
A police spokesperson said: “At around 7.50am today (Tuesday), we received a report of malicious communications directed towards a school on Benfield Road in Walkergate, Newcastle. It is understood an email was received overnight. “Officers are currently in attendance to carry out enquiries and offer reassurance to the public. In collaboration with the school, a decision was made to evacuate the premises as a precaution. A subsequent decision was then made by the school to close for the remainder of the day.”.
Benfield School headteacher Anthony Martin said: “Following a health and safety incident and working in collaboration with Northumbria Police, we took the decision to inform all parents that Benfield School would need to close for Tuesday, 28th January. We apologise for any inconvenience and disruption caused.
