SCHOOLS have been placed in lockdown after a “firearm was spotted”.
Police were called to Ashton-in-Makerfield, in Wigan, after reports of a suspicious male with a gun in the town centre.
The suspect was spotted roaming at around 3.15pm and local schools were put on lockdown.
Officers stopped and searched two men, but no firearms were found.
A message was sent to parents and carers regarding children being put in lockdown at Byrchall High School.
The message warned how the phones were out of service but all pupils inside the school were safe and being supervised by staff.
Byrchall High School, Cansfield, and St Oswald’s RC Primary, were among the local schools thought to have been put into lockdown.
One parent told the M.E.N “nobody could get near the school” and students were “hiding inside”.
Meanwhile, armed officers were seen patrolling the area, in Gerard Street and the nearby shopping park car park.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “At around 3.15pm today we were called to reports of a suspected firearms sighting on Gerard Street, Ashton-in-Makerfield.
“No injuries have been reported. Armed officers were deployed to the area with a high visibility of neighbourhood patrols.
“Two men were stopped and searched with no firearms located.”
No arrests have been made.
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