Pupil’s DIY flamethrower among hundreds of weapons taken into schools last year
A PUPIL with a DIY flamethrower was one of hundreds of children caught with a weapon in school last year.
The yob was armed with a makeshift aerosol device which could have been used to torch classmates.
Other pupils in the same area, Lincolnshire, were found in possession of flares, a syringe and a metal bar.
They were among 319 children either expelled or suspended from schools across the country for having weapons including knives, guns, a hammer and a snooker cue.
The cases were unearthed through Freedom of Information requests to 150 councils.
But the total is likely to be far higher as a third of councils, including some in major cities, did not reply.
In Salford, Gtr Manchester, a pupil was expelled for taking a steak knife to school and threatening to “chef” classmates.
'SELF-PROTECTION'
And in Plymouth, a child armed with a knife and BBQ fluid “for self-protection” was among eight cases recorded.
In another, a child made a knife at school and threatened to stab pupils on the bus.
In Tower Hamlets, East London, a pupil was expelled for having a gun.
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Similar cases were reported in nearby Haringey and in West Sussex.
Elsewhere, everyday objects, including books, bins, scissors, water bottles and a pencil were used in attacks. One pupil used the plaster cast on his arm to batter another.
Christopher McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “Some schools have more in common with war zones than places of learning.”
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