Ammanford school stabbings: Girl in court on attempted murder charges

A 13-year-old girl has appeared at Llanelli Magistrates' Court, charged with the attempted murder of three people at a school in Carmarthenshire.

Teachers Fiona Elias, Liz Hopkin and a pupil were injured at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford on Wednesday.

The 13-year-old, who cannot be named because of her age, has been remanded into secure youth detention accommodation.

She is due to appear at Swansea Crown Court on 27 May.

The teenager, who was also charged with the possession of a bladed article on school premises, appeared at a brief hearing before District Judge Mark Layton on Friday.

During the girl's hearing earlier, the judge considered for some time whether bail, youth detention or council youth accommodation was best.

The council's representative for Carmarthenshire, Davinia Davies, said there was no youth accommodation available.

She advised that, given the seriousness of the allegations against the girl, that a detention centre would be the preferred option rather than conditional bail.

The judge agreed, with the situation to be revisited if circumstances change.

Ms Elias, Ms Hopkin and the pupil have been released from hospital after treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.

The family of Ms Hopkin, 53, spoke to the BBC about how "very upbeat and happy" she was to be alive.

"She is walking very slowly because one of the wounds is in her knee," they said, adding she was relieved her colleague and the injured pupil were not too seriously hurt.

"She hopes that her actions prevented other pupils and staff from getting hurt," said her family.

"She would also like to thank everyone for the kind messages of love and support she has had which are helping keeping her spirits up."

The school went into a four-hour lockdown and was closed on Thursday, but teachers and staff were expected to return on Friday to prepare the building for pupils to come back on Monday.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy has been arrested and is in custody. Police said messages shared on social media had references to the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.

Ysgol Dyffryn Aman - which translates as Amman Valley School in English - is a bilingual comprehensive school in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.

The school, which educates 11 to 18-year-olds, has about 1,450 pupils.

It's about 20 miles (32km) from the centre of Swansea and 60 miles (97km) from Cardiff.