Hoax bomb threats made to hundreds of schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Bogus threats also made to thousands of schools in Italy as police assure parents and teachers there is no danger

Hundreds of schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland were hit by a fresh wave of hoax bomb threats on Wednesday, with some sites evacuated as a precaution.

Police in Scotland said that about 1,000 schools, from Dumfries in the south of Scotland to Aberdeenshire and Orkney in the north, had received the hoax warnings. At least 300 schools were affected in Northern Ireland. Similar claims were sent in a generic communication" to schools in the Republic of Ireland.