We Are Turning Into America…

Police are hunting for two suspects, one of whom is believed to have been carrying a sword, following an altercation that left a teenager injured.

Medieval weapons in a modern Britain. Lovely! 

Armed police were called to the incident near St Peter's High School in Gloucester earlier. The school and Willow Primary Academy were put into lockdown while officers searched for the group who had fled the scene.

And amazingly, descriptions were forthcoming very quickly! 

Police described both suspects as white males. One is aged in his late teens to early 20s, of a medium to large build, and about 6ft tall. He was wearing white sliders at the time of the incident. The other suspect is described as being about 5ft 5ins tall, of slim build and wearing black clothing.

But the majority of the panic induced here appears to have been caused by - not the thugs, as you might expect - but the response to them. 

St Peter's High School pupil Jimmy said the situation was "really scary" and he was still in shock. After getting into the Tuffley school for the day, he said his friends came in and told him something had happened near his home. He said the school's alarm then went off and the computer he was on displayed a message saying "This is a lockdown". "The computers are not accessible at all and we've all had to turn the lights off, lock the doors, turn all the blinds down, and we've had to get on the ground," he said. "At the time I was scared. My heart was racing," he added. Jimmy said pupils were locked in their classrooms for two to three hours.

Why? It won't have taken police this long to arrive and secue the scene. 

The 15-year-old said he was able to message his mother when the school let students use their phones after about an hour.

How good of them. But now we see a downside to not allowing phones in schools, don;t we.  

Another parent outside the school gates earlier, whose daughter is in Year 8 and nephew is in Year 7, said the family was "so worried". "I'm slightly calmer now the police have told us they're safe but I want to take them home. 

"I haven't heard from them because they aren't allowed phones in school," she added.

There's always a downside, and here it is for all to see, so will it force a rethink or are heads of schools just arrogant enough to ignore it. Probably, if thy sre callous enough to imprison their students for so long after one of thrse incidents.