Council / Scalloway Primary School evacuated as a precaution
The Scalloway health centre has also closed
LOCAL police and coastguard teams are in attendance at Scalloway Primary School after historical ordnance was taken into the building from a beach.
The school shut for the day early and parents and carers were told at around 12.30pm to collect their children from the school and nursery immediately.
A police spokesperson said: “Police and emergency services are currently at a primary school in Scalloway, Shetland after an historic ordnance was found at a local beach and taken to the school around 11.45am on Friday, 26 May 2023.
“A cordon has been put in place around the area and the school has been evacuated as a precaution.
“Shetland Coastguard and Shetland [Islands] Council are assisting.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) have been made aware and will attend in due course. Police say the ordnance poses no immediate risk to the surrounding community. It is remotely reviewed by an EOD team. It’s not known yet when they will be able to be in Shetland.
Earlier On Friday, the schools advised that primary children should be picked up from the south end of the school as soon as possible, as the main school door is locked.
Nursery parents are advised to collect their child from the usual nursery entrance.
Meanwhile the nearby health centre has also closed and patients are asked not to attend.
More information regarding when the health centre will reopen will be provided by NHS Shetland.
A spokesperson for Shetland islands Council said: “We can confirm an incident at Scalloway Primary School this morning involving historic ordnance. Staff and pupils have now left the building and the school is now closed.
“We’re grateful to Police Scotland and HM Coastguard for their prompt response.”
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -
- Remove non-local ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.