A Birmingham mother, Davina Frost, 28, sparked a major emergency response after threatening to blow up a local primary school, forcing nearly 400 children to be locked indoors for their safety.
Frost, a cannabis user and mother-of-three from Sheldon, sent aggressive messages to the school’s staff, calling them “silly p*****” and threatening to smash windows and plant a bomb in the playground. These threats led the school to activate lockdown procedures and contact the police immediately.
The incident was triggered after Frost became angry upon learning that the school had sent police officers to her home to perform a welfare check, prompted by concerns over her children’s absence. Frost admitted to making a bomb hoax but was spared jail during her sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court on July 16.
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Judge Peter Cooke described the case as “wholly exceptional,” taking into account Frost’s mental health struggles and her pregnancy with a fourth child. Instead of imprisonment, Frost received a 16-month suspended sentence along with a rehabilitation and mental health treatment plan.
Prosecutor Shahan Mir explained that the school had been mindful of Frost’s mental health needs and had conducted previous welfare check-ins. On September 17 last year, after another check prompted police involvement, Frost reacted with anger, sending threatening messages including “Bomb planted in the school playground it will happen I promise.”
The school went into lockdown with all 379 pupils and 40 staff accounted for before police cleared the premises. An assembly was held afterward to reassure pupils, and parents were informed via letter.
Frost made further threatening remarks and racial comments to police but was not charged separately for these. She initially confessed and was to be cautioned but failed to comply with conditions, leading to formal charges.
Frost’s defense lawyer, Pierre de Garis, highlighted her significant mental health problems at the time, her cannabis use, and her subsequent commitment to getting better, including engaging with support and stopping drug use.
Judge Cooke acknowledged Frost’s troubled state, emphasizing that while the bomb threats were serious and had to be treated as such, her actions were a result of emotional distress rather than rational intent. The judge ruled that traditional punishments would be ineffective given Frost’s mental health and pregnancy. Instead, she was ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities and a nine-month mental health treatment order.
The judge warned Frost that any breach of this suspended sentence would result in immediate imprisonment.