An Inverness school had to be evacuated after receiving a threatening call warning of a bomb.
Police were called to Charleston Academy at 9.15am, with the school being evacuated until officers declared that the call was a hoax.
Pupils were initially told that the evacuation was a fire drill – prompting some parents to criticise the lack of information.
Several mothers and fathers took to social media to vent their frustration.
One said: “You wouldn’t have cops guarding the entrances for a fire drill. Would be good to get the truth.”
Another said: “I bloody phoned the school office to be told it was just a long fire drill. Not happy.”
However, local councillor Graham Ross said that school staff and police dealt with the incident “calmly and efficiently” and had sought to prevent “undue panic”.
Pupils were kept outside in the school grounds for more than an hour, before being allowed back into the building at 10.19am.
No one at the school was believed to have been at any risk during the incident.
Councillor Alex Graham, whose Inverness West ward covers Charleston Academy, said the hoax was a “very irresponsible action”.
He said: “It’s obviously a very worrying thing to happen for pupils, staff and parents. I’m shocked that such a thing would happen at an Inverness school.
“However, I am glad that it turn out to be a hoax and nobody was injured or anything like that.
“I would urge anybody that knows anything about what happened to contact the police with their information.”
Mr Ross added: “Obviously it’s hugely disturbing that anybody would do such a thing as make a hoax call about a bomb with everything that goes on in the world nowadays.
“I do hope that police find who the perpetrator was.”
A police spokesman said: “Inquiries into the matter remain ongoing at this time and officers would ask if anyone has any information about the incident that they contact Police Scotland on 101.
“It should be noted that hoax calls which involve the emergency services are taken extremely seriously and if found to be malicious may result in a person or persons being reported to the Procurator Fiscal.”
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “The school carried out a planned evacuation exercise as a precaution.
“Such hoaxes are an extremely serious matter. The school is cooperating with the police investigation and the council would reiterate the warnings by the police as to the serious criminal nature of such actions.”