TWO MEN are being hunted by police after a home-made nail bomb exploded yards from a Liverpool primary school, just minutes before hundreds of pupils were due to go home.

The device, thought to be a large firework with nails buried in it, went off inside a teacher’s car only minutes before the end of the school day.

No-one was injured in the blast outside the independent Runnymede Catholic school in Sandfield Park, West Derby, at around 2.50pm.

Merseyside Police Superintendent Ian Pilling said it was a “despicable” crime.

He added that officers did not know whether the teacher who owned the car had been targeted directly.

Around 300 pupils were still in their classrooms awaiting the end of the school day at 3pm when the car, a silver saloon, exploded.

Fragments of nails and shattered glass from the windows of the car were sent flying into the air when the device detonated.

Pupils were kept inside as police checked the car, parked 30ft from the windows of the £4,500-a-year preparatory school, which teaches children aged between three and 11 and is the choir school to the city’s Metropolitan Cathedral.

The school was quickly evacuated and teachers were ordered to leave all their cars in the private car park that is used exclusively by staff at the school.

Forensic officers will today continue to examine the scene of the blast, alongside CCTV from cameras around the school, where the scene remained sealed off inside its 30-acre grounds.

Eyewitnesses reported a man seen running from the staff car park, which was otherwise deserted.

Police last night said they wanted to speak to two men in the vicinity of the school at the time of the incident.

Officers released a description of one of them, who is described as white, a stocky build, 5ft 9-5ft 10 tall and aged between 40 and 50. He possibly had light-coloured or ginger hair.

“Certainly from what I have seen, anybody in the vicinity of the vehicle could have been injured or killed,” said Supt Pilling.

“This was a despicable offence. Children were in the process of leaving. Nobody was killed or injured but that was down to good luck.’’

Supt Pilling urged parents collecting their children, or members of the public who might have seen anything suspicious, to contact officers.

He said: “This is an extremely unusual offence and we are investigating fully to bring the offenders to justice as quickly as possible.”

“At this stage, we can’t say if somebody was targeting a teacher. There is nothing indicating why anybody would target this teacher.”

Supt Pilling added: “At the time this incident took place, there may have been parents in the area who had arrived early to pick their children up.

“I would appeal to them, or anyone in the area at the time, to contact the incident room if they spotted anything suspicious.”

He added: “It is too early to state exactly what sort of device this is, as it needs to be subject to further examination. However, it does appear to be an improvised device.”

Janet Thomas, headteacher of Runnymede, said yesterday: “During the course of the afternoon of Friday, September 21, there was an incident in the school car park while pupils were in lessons. No-one was hurt but as a precaution the children were evacuated.

“The school is grateful to the Fire Service and Merseyside Police for their prompt response and action in dealing with this apparently isolated incident which is unrelated to the school and seems to have involved an improvised firework.

“The school will open as normal on Monday morning and I shall be writing to parents to provide them with details of the incident.”

The road was reopened again at 9.20pm and the Catholic Institute Edwardian Association youth club was reopened for St Edward’s six formers to use. The targeted car was wrapped up in tarpaulin and will be taken away at 10am today. All other staff cars were still in the car park last night.

Residents in the quiet suburb were last night in shock following the incident which emergency services had initially thought was a car fire.

Carole Bligh, who lives on Eton Road, said: “I find it very frightening. People think West Derby is a nice area and it generally is, but there are some bad kids. I have lived around here for 10 years and this is the worst thing that’s happened. When it went off, my teenage daughter was walking home from school.”

One resident, from Hawthorns Grove, said: “There doesn’t seem any reason to that attack at all. Why would someone have something against a member of the school staff. It’s unusual. It’s the weirdest thing that has happened around here. I’ve never heard of a bomb in a school before. Very strange.”

The school is connected to St Edward’s College – a high school that is the successor to a former Christian Brothers grammar school.

Competition for places at St Edward’s College is fierce with scores of pupils each year being refused a place, including some who have been educated at Runnymede.

The school stands about 200 yards from the home of Wayne Rooney’s parents who live in Central Drive, Sandfield Park,which is a leafy enclave of exclusive properties dating back to the early Victorian era.

Detectives will today continue house-to-house enquiries and the vehicle will be examined by forensics experts.

Officers will also be conducting high-visibility policing in the area.

ANY person who may have witnessed the incident is asked to call detectives on 0151 777 4564.