Three men were arrested on suspicion of kidnap in a police probe that forced a school into lockdown.
At around 12pm today (October 12) Hertfordshire Constabulary were called to reports from people concerned for the safety of a man in Watford who had reportedly been seen being forced into a vehicle in Beechwood Rise.
The force attended the scene and began making “fast time enquiries” into the reports, which led to an address in Croxley Green, near Rickmansworth School.
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When they arrived, three men attempted to make off from the scene and police officers carried out a search of the area.
In social media posts, people reported seeing multiple police cars and dogs near the school.
In an email to parents, the school confirmed that it went into “lockdown” at around 1.20pm as police needed to search a small area of the site.
It added that the lockdown was implemented “in order to keep your children safe” and the incident was unrelated to the school.
Around 10 minutes later, police informed the head teacher that the “incident was concluded” and the lockdown was lifted.
Police said they were able to quickly detain the men and the victim had returned home and was with officers.
Three men were arrested, and it was later confirmed the arrests were made on suspicion of kidnap.
One parent told the Watford Observer his son’s class had to hide under their desks during the lockdown.
He added that social media posts had reportedly been circulating among students showing a man in handcuffs and numerous police cars near the school.
The school reassured parents that it has a “clear” lockdown policy, which worked extremely well during a ‘live’ incident, with lockdown events having been rehearsed through drills.
It added that the school is likely to hold more lockdown drills in future to test its readiness for similar incidents.
A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “Enquiries are continuing at this time, but this is currently believed to be an isolated incident, with no threat to the wider public.”
They added that no weapons were reported.
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