A school was placed into a sudden lockdown over fears of a protest outside of the front gates. 

Parents of children at Churchill Park Academy in King's Lynn were shocked to find that the special school had locked its doors for more than three hours with no prior warning. 

An email was only sent out at 4.50pm, an hour and 50 minutes after the lockdown was lifted at the school which teaches children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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In the email, seen by this newspaper, the school said: "Today we were informed that a group of people were going to conduct a peaceful protest at our school gates. 

"We can confirm this protest did not take place.

"As a precaution, the school was placed into lockdown between 11.30am and 3pm."

The email was penned by Churchill Park headteacher Ellie Weatherall, who said the matter was being "taken seriously". 

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She added: "All relevant authorities were informed and we worked closely with them throughout the day in line with our school's policy.

"The mental and physical wellbeing of all of our pupils and staff is our top priority."

One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, has since questioned why they were not informed until after the "danger" had passed.

Churchill Park Academy did not wish to comment further on the incident and said a release would be sent to parents later today.