Police have confirmed that a bullet found in the grounds of a North East primary school was deemed to be an imitation round with 'no risk to the public'.

A Cleveland Police spokesperson said: "We were called to the grounds of Handale Primary School in Loftus at around 11am on Tuesday morning (27th February) following reports a bullet was found.

"The bullet was assessed and it was deemed to be an imitation round with no risk to the public.

"A pupil and their parents were given advice by officers."

Staff at the primary school have been praised for their quick actions after a pupil found was what to be a live bullet in the playground.

The Year 3 pupil discovered the found during a break.

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.

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.”

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.”