In a joint press release issued by the Isle of Man Police and the Department of Education it was confirmed that the incident which resulted in Ashley Hill Primary School in Onchan being evacuated yesterday was as a result of a phone call.  The phone call is being linked to similar bomb threat incidents that occurred in the UK on Monday and yesterday.  The incident continues to be investigated by local Police working with colleagues in the UK.

It was further confirmed that all pupils and staff were perfectly safe throughout and were accommodated temporarily at Onchan Community Centre whilst a thorough search of the school and its grounds was undertaken by the police, during which nothing suspicious was located.

Tim Crookall MLC, Minister for Education and Children, who praised the way the situation was handled, said: ‘In a difficult situation, the school and Department of Education and Children worked well to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all pupils and staff. The police, other emergency services and the Civil Defence responded efficiently and communicated well with staff and members of the public throughout the incident. I would like to commend them for their commitment to the safety of the public.’

Ashley Hill has 279 pupils, 265 of whom were registered as in school yesterday has opened as normal today (Wednesday 25th May).

Police stated there is no apparent specific threat to other schools across the Island.