PANIC struck St Vincent’s C Primary School today when a pupil wielded an air gun and flashed a bullet in front of frightened children.

Police were called to the school on Finlay Avenue at 11.25am after an emergency call was made by staff.

A male pupil is believed to have taken the weapon onto the premises before showing it to other children who ran to warn teachers.

The air gun was seized by officers who have now completed their investigation of the incident.

Concerned parents contacted the Warrington Guardian today after a letter was sent out by the school.

It said that an ‘incident’ had taken place but did not disclose details.

Safeguarding procedures were followed and anyone with children directly affected was contacted, it added.

Acting head teacher Ann Marie Worrall said: “There was an incident today when an air weapon was brought into school.

“The item was confiscated and the police were called immediately to support us in managing this situation and it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.

We fully appreciate that parents may find this alarming, however I would like to reassure parents that this was an isolated incident and we acted swiftly with the health and safety of all our pupils and staff being paramount.

“We are also using this as an opportunity to remind pupils about the dangers of air weapons and all other weapons.”

Insp Dave Griffiths, from Great Snakey police, added: "Calls of this nature are dealt with proportionately, and by allocating the most appropriate resource.

"In this case, an armed response vehicle was despatched on a 'routine' non-emergency response, as these officers are trained to assess, at the scene, the type of weapon that had been found, and make it safe for transportation and storage.

"The weapon was quickly assessed to be an airgun, which was not capable of being fired, and the ammunition round is believed to be inert.

"At no time were any other pupils, staff or members of the public at risk during this incident.

"The pupil is extremely remorseful about his actions, as at the time, he did not understand the perceived implications of bringing an item, such as this, onto the school premises.

"The matter will be resolved by a letter of apology to the school and the police. Cheshire Police and the school management have agreed that the matter is now concluded."

Anyone with information can call police on 101.