A WOMAN made chilling threats to blow up a special school and later drove towards children on a pavement.

Bolton Crown Court heard how 29-year-old Charlotte Wallace blamed Birtenshaw Special School, in part, for her children being taken off her.

She contacted Cllr Adele Warren expressing concerns about the school and, in subsequent emails described as “somewhat of a rant”, about her own situation. Cllr Warren offered to meet face to face to discuss the matter.

But, after a series of emails, Wallace sent a horrific message to the worried councillor on December 7 last year stating: “I promise now, if I don’t get my two children back, there will be a mass number of parents collecting bodies of theirs. I will blow the f***ing school and CEO up. Try me.”

Neil Ronan, prosecuting, told the court: “The councillor was somewhat concerned unsurprisingly and passed this information to the local authority solicitors who, in turn, contacted police.”

When questioned by police Wallace admitted sending the message but claimed that she had been going through a difficult time and believed the school had sided with her ex-partner.

Claire Brocklebank, defending, stressed that Wallace had no intention of carrying out the threat but it was a “desperate attempt to be heard” by someone in authority.

“They were empty threats,” she added.

However, the following month, Wallace vented her anger at a neighbour Levi Cracknell, who she was involved in a long-standing dispute with, by driving a car at her and her children as they walked along the pavement on their way to school.

“The acrimony started with the defendant wanting to buy a dog off the victim, which fell through. She wasn’t satisfied because she didn’t get the dog she wanted,” said Mr Ronan.

“This started a history of issues between the parties.”

He added that Ms Cracknell was so concerned about Wallace’s behaviour that she had a metal plate put over her letter box and security lights put up at her Waggon Road, Breightmet, home.

On January 25 Ms Cracknell and a friend were walking their six children, aged between two and eight, to school on Blair Lane when they saw Wallace driving her Motability-funded Mini.

“She came fully into view and ploughed onto the path,” said Mr Ronan.

“She was aiming, the victim felt, in the direction of her two-year-old child in the pram.

“So much concern, the victim had, that she rammed the pram to the right to move it out of the way.

“The car was centimetres away from the children.

“She noticed at that point, that the defendant had a massive grin on her face as she was doing this.”

The mini then veered off the path, almost hitting another car.

Wallace, formerly of Waggon Road and now living in Dundee, pleaded guilty to making a malicious communication, dangerous driving, attempted assault, and assault.

Miss Brocklebank, defending, said that, at the time, Wallace was very distressed and, the day before the dangerous driving, had been at court proceedings which have finally decided the children are to be cared for by other family members.

She added that Wallace, who suffers from fibromyalgia and a back injury, had intended to scare her victim, not to hurt anyone.

Judge Timothy Stead said the pedestrians must have been very frightened.

“The alarm and fear that it caused doesn’t require repetition,” he said. “But on the other hand nobody was struck or injured and no property was damaged.”

Judge Stead deferred sentence until November 17 and told her she will not go immediately to jail if she abides by a number of conditions until then.

Wallace must give up the tenancy on her Waggon Road home and not go there or Winchester Way without the court’s permission, hand back her Motability funded car, not commit any further offences, have no communication with her victim and provide medical evidence that she is unfit to work.

“Although I, provisionally, think the custodial threshold is crossed, if you do comply with all of these then you will not lose your liberty immediately,” Judge Stead told Wallace.