A MAJOR joint police investigation is underway after schools across Scotland were targeted by “hoax” bomb threats.

Pupils were evacuated from at least three schools in the central belt including Dunrobin Primary School in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire.

Staff received a call yesterday morning claiming there was an explosive device within the building.

Children and staff were taken to the nearby community centre and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland carried out a safety inspection.

They gave the all-clear for pupils to return to the building just after 10.30am.

Other schools targeted included Canberra Primary School in East Kilbride, Carluke Primary School and Donfoot Primary School in Ayr.

Police said their was “no intelligence” to suggest the threats were credible but that they were being taken seriously.

The force published a list of schools affected following criticism by parents that they had learned about the alert on social media and news sites.

No schools in Glasgow were affected.

Some pre-school children were on their first visit to primaries and one parent reported that her son’s college had been affected in the middle of an exam.

Schools were also targeted in Perth and the Lothians, with some evacuated as a “precautionary measure.

A number of schools across the UK have reportedly received such calls in the last few days, with a school in Northern Ireland also evacuated on Tuesday.

Superintendent John McTear, who led the police response in Lanarkshire, said: “’I would like to reassure the people of Lanarkshire that our officers are highly skilled, highly motivated and entirely capable of dealing with situations of this nature, as demonstrated on this occasion.

“Each phone call is being treated as a hoax and an investigation is underway to identify those who caused such inconvenience to our community.”

A police spokesman in Dumfries said the alerts would involve a “significant investigation” by Police Scotland.

Perth High School was also targeted by a call but was not evacuated on police advice, as were schools in East and West Lothian.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said: “A number of schools across the central belt have received a threat via the telephone.

“Police Scotland would like to reassure the public that at present these do not appear to be credible threats, however they are being taken seriously.

“Some schools as a precautionary measure have been evacuated and significant inquiries are under way.

“In common with a number of schools across the UK, a West Lothian school received a threatening phone call this morning.

“In consultation with Police Scotland, the school followed their emergency plan to calmly evacuate the school as a precaution.

“Pupils returned to the school a short time later after police had checked the school and declared it safe.”