Staff at a North-East primary school have been praised for their quick actions after a pupil found a live bullet in the playground.

The Year 3 pupil discovered the bullet during a break at Handale Primary School, in Loftus, at around 11am today (February 27).

The school’s site manager promptly took the bullet to a safe area and the children were kept safely inside while the police were called.

Police dealt with the incident as an emergency, and the bullet was taken to the Army base at Catterick for testing by experts, who confirmed it was live.The Northern Echo: Headteacher, Nicola PadgettHeadteacher, Nicola Padgett (Image: Contributor)

Headteacher Nicola Padgett said: “Most of the children were blissfully unaware of what had happened, but the school remained very calm throughout, and everything has now returned to normal.”

Parents were informed in a letter from Mrs Padgett, in which she said: “I wish to assure you that school took immediate safeguarding actions and procedures were followed, placing school in a temporary lockdown to ensure the safety of all. Please be reassured that the incident was resolved quickly and safely.

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“I would just like to say how proud I am of the way the whole school community reacted, the safety of our children is paramount at Handale.”

The Northern Echo: Lingfield Education Trust. Chief executive, Nick BlackburnLingfield Education Trust. Chief executive, Nick Blackburn (Image: Contributor)

Handale Primary School is part of Lingfield Education Trust. Chief executive, Nick Blackburn, said: “This was clearly a highly unusual and disturbing incident, but all protocols were followed correctly, and I’m so proud of the calm and efficient way it was dealt with by all concerned.”

An investigation by Cleveland Police is now underway into where the bullet came from.