Chiswick House Grounds Murder Rumours Prove False

Police enter Chiswick School to catch disqualified driver

Chiswick Community School was rife with rumours yesterday after a police entered the school in pursuit of a suspect.

Reports quickly spread that at least one woman had been killed in Chiswick House Grounds and that police were still trying to catch an escaped murderer. Versions of the story soon became more fantastic with pupils returning home to tell their parents that two girls had been stabbed and that armed police had been ranging through the school warning the children to stay in their classrooms.

In fact the chase was for a rather less dangerous miscreant; a man had ran off in the direction of the school after he had been stopped for driving while disqualified. The man was chased through the school grounds and subsequently apprehended.

A spokesman for Chiswick police said that an armed unit hadn't been deployed but it was possible that if an armed officer had been in the area he may have assisted with the search. However it is more likely that students assumed equipment such as a torch or baton was a gun.

May 30, 2004