Parents in Stevenage and Fairfield have been asked to collect their children after a ‘bomb threat’ email was sent to a number of schools in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Police have been responding to reports of bomb threats including at The Valley School in Stevenage and Fairfield Park Lower School in Fairfield, where staff chose to evacuate students.

In Bedfordshire, police have advised that evacuation is not appropriate in this instance.

A spokeswoman for Central Beds Council said: “We are aware of the distribution of the ‘bomb threat’ email which has been sent to schools in our area and across the country.

“We have contacted our schools to advise that we are actively liaising with Bedfordshire Police who have indicated that they regard the communication as malicious rather than terrorist related.”

In Hertfordshire, six schools have been targeted with the email – Stevenage’s Valley School, Abbots Hill in Hemel Hempstead, The Sele School and Duncombe School in Hertford, Stanborough School in Watford and St Albans High School.

A spokeswoman for Herts police said: “We’d like to reassure 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.

“We take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and an investigation is underway.”

Anyone with information regarding Hertfordshire should contact police on 101 quoting ISR 172 of March 19, or report information online at herts.police.uk/report.