A TEENAGER who sparked a college bomb scare has been reprimanded by police.

Over a thousand students had to be evacuated from Blackburn College on Tuesday October 7 after the 17-year-old rang and told staff there was a bomb at the Fielden Street campus.

The teen phoned the college ten minutes later to apologise, but by this time staff had found a suspicious bag left in a classroom.

Army bomb disposal experts were called in and found that the bag was actually harmless.

Blackburn magistrates Court also had to be evacuated during the drama.

The 17-year-old, a former college student from the Blackburn area, was arrested on Sunday and reprimanded by police.

The boy has now written a letter of apology to the college.

A police spokesperson said: “A thorough investigation been carried out and the person responsible has been identified and dealt with accordingly.

“While he had not considered the consequences of his actions, the call he made led to significant disruption of the community and placed a heavy demand on emergency services.

“Making hoax calls is extremely irresponsible and every effort will be made to find anyone responsible.”