Controlled explosion after '˜unsafe chemical' found in Todmorden High School

The news comes after Lightcliffe Academy, Stoney Lane, was evacuated on Monday afternoon for the same reason.

Police attended Todmorden High School, Ewood Lane, yesterday and a controlled explosion was carried out at around 11pm.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Police attended a school in Todmorden to assist in the disposal of a school chemical contained on site as part of a planned operation.

“The substance is a chemical kept on site in some schools for use in science lessons. It has been withdrawn from premises in certain cases as a precaution following new national advice over its storage.

“Police assisted the local education authority in safely resolving the matter with the minimum of disruption.”

Schools have been acting in response to government advice from the Consortium of Local Education Authorities for the Provision of Science Equipment (CLEAPSS) to check for 2,4-DNP.

A government advisory note sent out on 28 October said CLEAPSS had “recently received a number of calls regarding the chemical.

A warning to schools on the CLEAPSS website read: “If there is no water in the outer container or the reagent bottle has not been placed inside an additional container you must assume that the material has dried out meaning that an additional risk is present.”