THREE schoolboys were threatened with a knife and robbed as they walked home from school in Bournemouth.

In the first of two robberies in the space of minutes on Tuesday afternoon, the trio of 13-year-olds were walking in Slades Farm.

While on the path between the pavilion building and a nearby wooded area, at some point between 3.30pm and 4pm, they were approached by two teenage boys on bicycles who threatened them with a knife before going through their bags and stealing £5 in cash.

Shortly afterwards, another 13-year-old boy in the same area with his 14-year-old girlfriend on their bicycles was also approached and threatened by two teenage boys.

An iPhone 6 was stolen.

Nobody was physically injured in either incident.

It is believed that some of the victims may have been students at nearby Glenmoor and Winton Academies.

On Tuesday afternoon the schools sent an email to parents urging them to be “vigilant” and “ensure that any children walking home are mindful of their personal safety”.

The email states: “A small group of adult males (not from G&W) demanded money and phones from two groups of young people and threatened violence.”

It also recommends, based on advice from Dorset Police, “not having phones on display and not to engage in conversation with people they do not know” and urges parents to contact police if they know anything.

Headteacher Ben Antell was not available for comment today.

At pick-up time, parents reacted with shock at the news.

“I am very surprised, and I hope they will be able to nip this in the bud and catch whoever is responsible,” said 72-year-old grandparent Geoffrey Ainsworth, from Throop.

Mum Samantha Battesby, 40, from Westbourne, said: “I am shocked, my son won’t be going around to Slades Farm any more.”

She said she did not believe the school could do much more to protect students leaving the premises.

“In general I think it is a pretty good school, well run.”

Detective Sergeant Simon Walters, of Bournemouth CID, said the force was keen to hear from anyone using Slades Farm at around the time the incidents took place.

The force said officers from its Neighbourhood Policing Team had been offering “community reassurance” in the area and were seeking to provide an “increased visible presence”.

A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and has been released under investigation.

Earlier this week the Daily Echo reported how students at another Bournemouth school - Avonbourne College - were locked in their classrooms as police responded to reports of intruders vandalising school property.

It later transpired that three students from neighbouring Tregonwell Academy, a school for youngsters with emotional and social difficulties, had entered Avonbourne’s campus and caused disruption, during which water was squirted and a window broken.

Contact Dorset Police with information on 101 quoting reference 55170097099.