Headteacher of Wem high school apologises to residents after bomb squad blew up 'unstable' chemicals

The bang at Thomas Adams School in Wem was loud enough to cause nearby residents 'distress' and many called the fire service.

Three fire crews were sent from Prees, Shrewsbury and Wem to the school at about 8pm on Monday evening.

Liz Dakin, headteacher at the school, said they contacted the police after discovering a chemical which was deemed 'unstable' by the Government.

Mrs Dakin has issued an apology to people for any distress caused but said they were following police instructions.

She said: "In the last week all secondary schools in the country were warned by CLEAPSS (the government's science and technology advisory service) that one chemical, often in storage in schools, has been found to become increasingly unstable.

"Schools were advised to check their shelves and then phone the police if they discovered this chemical.

"On checking our shelves first thing Monday morning we found a small quantity in storage and therefore immediately phoned the local police.

"At 5.45pm I was informed that the police were coming to get rid of the substance at 7.30pm that evening - an excellent speedy response to a potential, if slight, risk.

"They then informed us that the officers who would deal with getting rid of the substance would be the bomb disposal squad.

"This, however, left us with no time or ability to warn our neighbours.

"We also were not aware of how big the bang would actually be.

"We do apologise to the public for any distress caused but, of course, we were following police instructions.

"We thank the bomb disposal squad and local police for their rapid and professional action.

"They have said that at present their time is being taken up by doing the same thing at schools across the country."

Some residents in the area thought it was connected to local Halloween celebrations.

Posting on the school's Facebook page, Hayley Bowyer said: "If this was really the case then some warning would have been nice.

"Has anybody been and checked on all the elderly people down Lowe Hill Gardens etc.

"It was very irresponsible doing this at a time of night when the elderly would have been panicking anyway because of trick or treaters."

Kayleigh Bate wrote: "Maybe a bit of advance warning to close neighbours would have been a nice thing to do.

"I understand for safety reasons you wouldn't have wanted an audience but it would have been nice to warn my two hysterical children about the event beforehand - especially as they were in your school hall doing judo beforehand.

"They are likely to be too petrified to go again."

And Fiona Rothwell posted: "Many elderly and very young people have been scared tonight.

"The noise was immense and very worrying.

"I do feel this could have been avoided with some advance warning - especially choosing Halloween to do it."

Paul Roberts, West Mercia Police spokesman, said: "Officers from West Mercia Police attended Thomas Adams School in Wem to assist an Explosive Ordinance Disposal EOD unit which conducted a controlled explosion on some chemicals."

Safer Neighbourhood Inspector Nigel Morgan added: "The chemicals were safely dealt with by the EOD unit on the school playing field and although local residents may have experienced a loud band, all relevant steps were taken to ensure that the local community were kept safe from harm".