The head of Penryn's primary school has praised staff and children for the way they responded to a gun scare on Monday.

Police were called to Polwithen Road after a visitor to the school reported seeing a man with a firearm. It later transpired that it was an air rifle and police gave the man "strong words of advice".

The entire school was placed on lockdown whilst the incident was ongoing and children were moved from classrooms into school halls.

Children were not told the full details of the incident, but were told that there was a "situation" outside and staff wanted to make sure they were safe.

After police concluded that there was no threat to the public, an officer brought a police dog into the school and introduced it to the children before they went back to their classes.

In a letter to parents, Head of School James Hitchens said: "I would like to thank the staff for their swift, measured and professional conduct and to the children who responded magnificently to directions and behaved sensibly, staying calm and listening carefully to the grown-ups.

"Around lunchtime a concern was raised following the sighting of a member of public, in a house close to the boundary of the school, holding a firearm. The police were immediately alerted and to ensure the safety of our children and staff, we took the decision to initiate an entire school lockdown. A rigorous procedure was followed with KS1 children quickly moved to the KS1 hall and the KS2 children to the KS2 hall.

"At no point were the children made aware of exactly why this was happening, they were told that there was a situation outside and we wanted to ensure everyone remained safe. The police responded robustly and the situation was resolved.

"After a later-than-normal lunch, the children resumed their afternoon lessons and we finished the day at the normal time.

"The decision to put a school in lockdown is not taken lightly and thankfully such incidents are extremely rare. If your child is asking questions about today, I would encourage parents to reinforce with their children the importance of listening to, and responding to, adults who may ask them to quickly move from one location to another because they need to ensure they stay absolutely safe.

"However, it is also important to stress that such events are not a frequent occurrence. If your child becomes in any way distressed, then please contact our Parent Support Advisor or myself who will be able to offer you guidance."