A man has died after a serious incident near a secondary school in Devizes.
Emergency services were called to the scene in Southbroom Road at around 8.30am this morning (Wednesday).
As pupils arrived at schools in the area, 999 crews raced into Devizes Leisure Centre – where a man has suffered a cardiac arrest.
Teachers frantically shepherded children into school in a bid to ensure emergency vehicles were able to respond to the incident.
Despite the best efforts of staff, medics and police officers, the man – aged in his 60s- was pronounced dead at the scene.
“There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances and our thoughts are with his family at this time”, a spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said.
At the height of the emergency, there were two ambulance crews, an operations officer, a first responder, critical care medics from Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance in attendance alongside numerous police officers.
Following the panic, Southbroom Infants School wrote to parents to reassure them that no lockdown was in place – but pupils were brought indoors swiftly.
A spokesperson said: “Thank you for your cooperation in coming into school promptly this morning.
“Given the medical emergency that took place in the Leisure Centre, it was critical we did not have people on the pavements blocking access for the emergency services.
“Please rest assured, at no point was school in a lockdown scenario this morning, however when an emergency situation arises outside school, we will always endeavour to bring children in as quickly as we can.”
