A Maidstone primary school with more than 400 pupils was evacuated following a bomb threat this morning.

Police began searching Barming Primary School, in Belmont Close with the aid of specially trained dogs after an anonymous caller rang the school said an explosive device had been left on the site at 10.20am.

No suspicious devices were found.

The bomb scare comes after a similar incident in Canterbury and several threats made to 27 other schools across the UK.

Ringmer Primary School and Kingsham Primary School, Chichester, were phoned two minutes apart.

Sussex Police has confirmed it is treating both incidents as malicious hoaxes.

Both the pre-school and adjoining primary were cleared and staff moved children to St Augustine Academy in Oakwood Road where they were collected by parents.

Kent Police set up an incident centre at The Redstart Inn in North Street and closed the road from Beverley Road to Belmont Close.

Matthew Manders, from Maidstone has a four-year-old daughter and two boys aged six and nine attending the primary school and pre-school.

He said: "I feel terrible, not knowing what is going on and not being kept in the loop. My family is my life and I won't be the only parent rushing back to make sure my family is alright."

"It is absolutely terrifying. I don't know why anybody would do something like this."

Erika Velasquez has an 11-year-old daughter at the school.

She said: "It is really hard. Twenty minutes past ten was a long time ago and there perhaps could have been more information. They didn't explain much.

But the main thing is that everyone is safe."

A police spokesman said they are treating this case as separate to events at Canterbury High School.

A spokesman for Kent County Council (KCC) said three buses were provided to move pupils away from the school site.

Bus company Arriva sent one bus and a driver, while Nu-Venture sent two double deckers.

Norman Kemp, from Nu-Venture, said it was contacted by KCC's emergency planning team shortly after midday and dropped everything in order to provide the services.

He added: "We don't have vehicles standing by for this scenario but are always happy to help in an emergency. We made two journey each, taking the children to Westborough Sports Centre. They were all so well behaved and polite."

Kent County Council will be working with police as their investigation progresses.

According to local news websites several schools across the UK have been evacuated on Monday, in areas including Cambridge, Bedfordshire, Greater Manchester and Newcastle.

For more information on the Kent situation, contact KCC on 03000 414141.