A Bradford primary school has strengthened its security procedures after an unknown man tried to arrange to collect a child from its nursery.

The man phoned Miriam Lord Community School in Manningham to say the pupil’s cousin would be collecting her.

The purported ‘cousin’ never arrived and the girl was collected by her grandmother as normal.

Head teacher Bryan Harrison said he and the girl’s family were concerned by the incident and, in response, he had introduced a new system whereby staff replied to such phone calls by checking the phone number against the numbers held on file.

When staff returned the call the person at the other end then had to verify particulars that only a close family member would know, he said.

Mr Harrison also stressed that the girl would not have been allowed to leave with a stranger.

He said: “We have photographs of all the family members who have agreed to pick up children at the end of the school day.

“If this person had arrived at school last week, there is no way he would have been able to leave with a pupil.

“This girl went home safely with her grandmother and a complaint has not been made to school.

“I can assure parents that our safeguarding procedures are robust and we have had this verified by Education Bradford.”

  • Read the full story in Tuesday's T&A