Nelson Intermediate School has been evacuated. Photo: Google Maps
Several Nelson schools have received threatening emails and some have evacuated and closed for the day.
Nelson Intermediate School has been evacuated on the advice of police.
In a post on Facebook, the school said it was a precautionary measure for health and safety.
Everyone was safe and well, it said.
"As a result, school will be closed for the day... could you please come and collect your children from the Broads Fields on Tipahi Street, opposite the hospital as soon as possible."
In a statement, police said they were making enquiries after several schools received "an email of a concerning nature".
The threats were taken seriously and "however at this time we do not believe there is a genuine risk".
Police were at the schools, several of which have been evacuated as a precaution, they said.
"Traffic has been impacted by cordons in some places, and we ask motorists for their patience at this time."
A second school nearby, Victory Primary, has also been evacuated, Stuff was reporting.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said he is aware of six schools in the city that received the email.
Police said they "don't have a list of schools or what areas they were in - at this time of year there are obviously varying levels of staff/pupils at schools, so it depends on the facility what kind of action would have been taken."
Smith said he is disappointed by the situation.
"It's very disappointing that there has been an e-mail threat to a number of schools in Nelson. The police have briefed me, they need to take a cautious approach when either these sorts of threats are made.
"The schools have been evacuated, which is quite disruptive for families, as well as the schools. It's particularly rough at this time of the year to head this additional disruption and extra stress."
He asked the Nelson community to be as supportive of police and schools as they deal with the threat.
Smith is confident that police and schools are doing their best to manage the threat and to ensure that children are kept safe, but is disheartened by the timing of the incident.
"It's particularly disappointing to have this occurring right in the last week of term when we should be looking forward and focusing on the celebration of Christmas, rather than having this additional disruption and the extra streets associated for both their children, our teachers and parents." he said.
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