Update: Essex Police has informed us that they attended at the cycletrack but it was a case of area searched, no trace.

ESSEX Police have no evidence that a man with a knife approached or attempted to enter a school in Harlow on Friday.

YH was aware of a report that man with a knife had been seen on the cycle track close to Stackfield and Broomfield.

One thing seemed to lead to another and before you knew it, there were rumours on social media that a man had been trying to gain entry to a number of schools in the town.

Reacting to this, schools sent messages out to concerned parents.

YH put a question to Essex Police.

We asked if they had

1. Responded to a report of a man with a knife in the location detailed above.
2. Take a witness statement from someone who had seen said person.

Over a day later, the press office appear to be still working on finding any information on this one.

They were able to issue a general statement on town-wide concerns.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: “We received a third-party report today, 18 November, at around 12.10pm that a man was trying to access at least one school in Harlow and that he was in possession of a machete.

This information did not come from an educational establishment, but several schools in the Harlow area made the decision to take immediate safeguarding action.

Enquiries started immediately and officers attended the schools. 

“Upon speaking to school staff, we can confirm that no school or other educational establishment in Harlow has reported anyone trying to gain access to their premises nor anyone in possession of a weapon. 

“We want to reassure parents and the public that schools in the Harlow area are safe and there is no apparent risk to students or staff”.