'Gun' incident triggers school lockdowns at Barton Seagrave schools

Schools in Barton Seagrave went into lockdown this afternoon after people reported seeing a man in Linnet Drive brandishing a ‘gun’.

Pupils ready to leave for the day, at both Barton Seagrave Primary School and Latimer Arts College, were kept behind locked gates until parents arrived.

The incident was sparked when members of the public called emergency services who raced to the scene – but the realistic-looking ‘gun’ was found to be a toy.

Principal of Latimer Arts College Kathryn Murphy, said: “At 3.05pm we received a call to reception from the police to alert us that there was an incident in Linnet Drive.

“We were not given any other details, however we can confirm that the incident was not related to our school family.

"As this was a suspected incident in the local community both Latimer and Barton Primary School were asked to keep students on site.

“We initiated lockdown procedures, however obviously some students had already left site, but those who remained were impeccably behaved and waited patiently until the lockdown was over.

“We allowed students to leave if collected by parents, so thank you to those of you who were able to respond quickly and do that.

“After school clubs continued as normal as there was no risk to students on site. I want to also thank staff who supported and reassured students who remained on site.”

Parents and carers were alerted to the lockdown with a text message.

A spokesman for Northants Police said: “This afternoon (Thursday, January 25), we have been in the Barton Road area of Barton Seagrave following reports of a man with a firearm.“Police officers attended and we can confirm that the item was thankfully a toy.“We’d like to thank the members of the public who reported this incident (at 2.50pm) to us so we could attend and establish that there was no threat or risk of harm to anyone.“We would always rather receive a well-meaning report that turns out to be nothing than not receive the report at all.”

An eyewitness saw the man being arrested close to Barton Hall in Barton Road.