Migrant caught breaking into Essex school seen outside another | UK | News

An asylum seeker who sparked panic at a school in Essex on Wednesday has allegedy been caught hanging around another in the same county. 

Essex Police confirmed they had arrested a migrant following reports from Davenant School in Loughton, that he had been “acting unsually” and entered their property yesterday morning. Today, an alarmed Waltham Abbey resident claimed to have found the same man by a primary school. 

The man was spotted in the Roundhills area shortly before 9am. A resident wrote on the Waltham Abbey Community Facebook page: “The migrant that entered the school in Loughton yesterday was found this morning sleeping in a garden in Waltham Abbey!! Please keep your kids safe.”

A second person told the Daily Express that the man was “hanging around in the bushes next to my children’s primary school”. The claims are yet to be confirmed.

It comes after a man was arrested after allegedly breaking into a school near Epping on Wednesday (September 17). Police were called to Davenant School, in Loughton, and arrested a man who failed to attend court.

The school confirmed that the man was spotted on a field on the site but had no interaction with any staff or students. Essex Police confirmed that the arrest had no relation to The Bell Hotel where furious protests against the housing of asylum seekers erupted this summer. 

The force added that the man was an “asylum seeker who sleeps rough outside of Essex”. He was arrested for failing to attend court for alleged offences outside of the county and has been bailed.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: “We were alerted to concerns for the welfare of a man in the grounds of Davenant School, in Loughton, this morning, Wednesday 17 September.

“On-site staff had seen the man acting unusually in Willingale Park before then entering the school grounds. When he was approached by school staff, who asked him to leave, he complied immediately. Officers who had been sent to the school to help then found him nearby and identified that the man was wanted for failing to attend court for alleged offences which had taken place outside of Essex.

“He was arrested for failing to attend and we’ve been in contact with the owning force. The man has subsequently been released on bail. No criminal offences relating to this incident were reported to Essex Police. We are aware of speculation online that this individual resides at The Bell Hotel, and we can confirm this is not the case.”

A spokesperson for Davenant Foundation School added: “This morning our site team spotted a man on the school field. They intercepted him and he was escorted off the premises immediately.

“He had no other interaction with any other staff or students. The police were notified and attended the school site.”