Teenage suspect 'jumped school fence' before girl was stabbed at Thorpe St Andrew

Moment a teenager is arrested in Pound Lane by armed police (Picture: Newsquest / SWNS)

A heroic teacher kept their pupils safe by barricading their classroom with a filing cabinet after a stabbing in their school.

A teenager has been arrested after a schoolgirl was left covered in blood in Thorpe St Andrew school,a small town near Norwich.

Armed police swooped on Laundry Lane after they received reports of the attack at 10.24am on Wednesday.

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested nearby on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He has been taken to Wymondham Police Investigation Centre for questioning,police said.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Pictures taken from inside a classroom show police officers armed with machine guns looking for the suspect.An alarm was triggered,with pupils told to hide under their desks as the entire school was placed in lockdown.Armed police burst into the school classroomA teenage girl has suffered minor injuries after she was stabbed at Thorpe St Andrew School near Norwich (Picture: Newsquest / SWNS)The suspect is understood to have climbed over a back fence into the school,according to the Norwich Evening News.Pupils being released after three hours of lockdown told the paper that in one Year Seven class,the teacher barricaded the door using a filing cabinet.Another said they saw a girl ‘covered in blood’ with terrified pupils texting their parents they were ‘scared’ and ‘just wanted to go home’.Police bag evidence at the scene at Thorpe St Andrew School near Norwich (Picture: Joe Giddens/PA Wire)The victim has been taken to hospital and she is believed to have suffered minor injuries.One concerned parent told the Norwich Evening News: ‘To hear nothing from the school,it’s terrifying.‘Your mind sort of starts wheeling,you’ve got kids in the school,you don’t know what they want.Concerned parents are waiting for their children at the school gates (Picture: Newsquest / SWNS)‘To have no information whatsoever about what was going on,with all this going on in the world right now,your mind instantly goes to the worst.‘You automatically assume the worst,and think something horrendous has happened. I mean,it has.‘You automatically think it’s something a hell of a lot worse.’Norfolk Police said the stabbing is not believed to be linked to a hate crime reported at the same school last week. It follows allegations of antisemitic chanting during a football match against a Jewish school.A spokesperson for Broad Horizons Education Trust,which runs Thorpe St Andrew School said students had to stay inside their classroom with their teacher.‘We have clear procedures in place and our staff acted swiftly,with the whole school going into lockdown with children staying in their classroom with their teacher,’ the spokesperson said in a statement.‘One of our students was injured and is now being treated in hospital for minor injuries.‘This has obviously been a distressing experience for our whole community and our focus now is on making sure all students feel supported as we begin to understand what happened.’Alice Macdonald,the local MP,said the reports of the stabbing were ‘deeply alarming’.She wrote on Facebook: ‘Immediately,we need to give the police time to ensure that every child and adult at the school is safe. My thoughts right now are with all of them,especially the victim who has been taken to hospital,and their families who will be extremely worried.‘My office is trying to get the latest information to understand exactly what has happened. I will keep you updated as I learn anything.’Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this,check our news page.