Today Herts Police responded to reports of bomb threats at six schools in Hertfordshire.

Email reportedly threatens to blow up schools if '$5,000 ransom' is not paid

The schools are Abbots Hill in Hemel Hempstead, Valley School in Stevenage, The Sele School in Hertford, Duncombe School in Hertford, Stanborough School in Watford and St Albans High School For Girls.

A number of schools in other parts of the country have made similar reports to their local police forces.

Schools in London, Manchester and North Yorkshire were among those that received the email.

The email threat is written in both English and Arabic.

Police want to are reassure the local communities that officers are in contact with the schools involved and at this stage there is no evidence to suggest these threats are credible. 

The Schools that were targets are :

• Abbots Hill in Hemel Hempstead
• Valley School in Stevenage
• The Sele School in Hertford
• Duncombe School in Hertford
• Stanborough School in Watford
• St Albans High School

Herts police have confirmed that The Valley School decided to evacuate after receiving the bomb threat.

A spokeswoman for the force said: “We did not advise any schools ourselves to evacuate but The Valley School in Stevenage made the decision to evacuate and we sent officers to assist them.”

Police forces in Cumbria, Cambridgeshire, Humberside, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Avon and Somerset and Northumbria Police also issued statements saying schools and colleges in their areas had been targeted.