Pupils at a London primary school were shocked after a UFO appeared to have crashed into their playground.

An officer guarded the 'crash site; at North Harringay Primary School while an apparent forensics officer took samples behind a police cordon.

Only half the craft was visible after apparently smashing into the tarmac and children were allowed closer to inspect the UFO after samples had been collected.

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However the UFO was not in fact a spaceship which had suffered a stall over the capital, but was part of an event designed to promote creative writing.

The flying saucer was actually built by a parent, while local officer, PC Glyn Kelly, offered his time to make the scene appear even more realistic.

Head teacher Helen Connor told The Independent: “A very talented parent, David Willshaw, built the space craft in a limited amount of time and kindly dressed as a forensic detective to help with the staging of the crash. A local Police officer, PC Glyn Kelly, also agreed to attend the scene to add to the mystery of the crash. We were very lucky that the fog added to the atmosphere.

“Both children and parents were excited by the scene of the crash and the rest of the school day revolved around discussions as to what could have happened. Children from from Nursery to Year 6 had the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas through drama, discussions, art work, filming and to then write creatively for the rest of the day.

“Later that day we received a letter of apology from the aliens at 3pm stating they accidentally crashed into our playground whilst sightseeing in London! Some fantastic pieces of writing were produced by both girls and boys resulting in a successful day of creative writing. The space craft is now on display in the school creating a buzz of excitement as children walk past.”