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Schools locked down after bull went on the loose

News imageGetty Images A black bull looking menacingly into the camera. There is grass and water behind it.Getty Images
Police contacted the schools in Newton Stewart to tell them there was a bull on the loose

Hundreds of children at two south of Scotland schools had to be locked down following reports of a bull on the loose nearby.

Police contacted Penninghame Primary and Douglas Ewart High School in Newton Stewart at lunchtime on Friday to ask that pupils be kept inside as a precaution.

Students who had already left the secondary were directed back along "safe routes" by officers.

The bull was later captured and pupils stayed inside the buildings until the end of the school day.

News imageBilly McCrorie A school building which is quite functional in design at the end of a green fieldBilly McCrorie
Pupils at Penninghame Primary were kept in school while the bull was on the loose

A council statement confirmed that both schools had been contacted by police on Friday to ask that pupils be kept inside.

"As this happened during the lunch period, some secondary pupils were already offsite," it added.

"School staff immediately made announcements instructing pupils to return to the buildings, and police officers supported this by directing pupils along safe routes back to school.

"The bull was subsequently captured, and pupils remained inside the buildings until the end of the school day as a precaution."

Douglas Ewart High School has a roll of about 600 pupils while Penninghame Primary caters for about 250 children.