A Hartlepool primary school was placed in lockdown on Monday morning after a man carrying a 'air rifle' was spotted nearby. Cleveland Police has now issued a CCTV image of a man they are trying to trace following the incident in Eskdale Road.

As children arrived at Eskdale Academy, a man was seen in the street carrying what appears to be an air rifle at around 8.55am. The force says the man briefly points the weapon towards the sky before he continues to walk along the road.

Eskdale Academy's headteacher quickly implemented a lockdown procedure as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of pupils. Armed response officers were deployed to the area and a drone was launched to try and trace the man.

He was no longer in the area and CCTV has now been shared by the force as a search t

See Full Page