Gardener wrongly accused of school bomb threat after mix-up over Welsh accent
James Morgan was misunderstood by a school receptionist as making a bomb threat because of his Welsh accent (Picture: Google)
A Welsh gardener was misunderstood as making a bomb threat to a school because of his accent.
James Morgan had phoned Badbury Park Primary school in Swindon, Wiltshire, to ask if he had time to pick up litter at a nearby park before the children finished classes for the day.
He was looking to clean up the public space before 3pm, as he had done the previous week.
However his query as to whether the pupils would be ‘back home or in school’ was heard as a ‘bomb in school’ by the receptionist.
He asked: ‘I want to do some litter-picking, can you tell me if the kids are on half term? Are the kids back home or in school?”
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Confused by Mr Morgan’s Welsh accent, she alerted the school’s head teacher to what she assumed was a threat, who phoned 999.
Badbury Park Primary school was evacuated in February after Mr Morgan’s phone call sparked panic (Picture: Google)
Schoolchildren and staff were evacuated from the building on February 25 for six hours while police searched the premises, a court heard.
Local residents were also told to leave their homes as a 200-metre cordon was erected around the school, the Telegraph reported.
Mr Morgan, 36, said he had hung up after speaking for 31 seconds with the receptionist after it had become clear she couldn’t understand what he was saying.
The gardener, who works for Tony Benger Landscaping, was found not guilty of intentionally communicating false information following a two-hour trial.
Defending Mr Morgan, Kate Lara said that the speed at which he was speaking coupled with his accent and the receptionist’s shock at hearing what she thought was a security threat to the school, led to the mix-up.
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