Scotland's education secretary has said there is no risk to the public after schools across the country were targeted with a fresh wave of hoax bomb threats, less than a month after a previous alert.

At least 1,000 schools received the hoax email, though police and the government said there was nothing within them to suggest a credible threat.

Government minister Mairi McAllan told parliament the situation was "very much in hand".

Specialist cyber-crime officers are working to identify the source of the messages, which were sent to both primary and secondary schools.

Similar "bogus" emails were sent to 300 schools in Northern Ireland, while schools in Italy also received threats.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland told the BBC Scotland News that the police were able to assess the threat as a hoax in around an hour and urged parents not to keep their children away from school.

He said: "First and foremost, I'll be sending my daughter to school tomorrow. I think what is important is that we continue to be vigilant, but we are not alarmed.

"We have carried out a significant amount of checks on all of the information we have gathered so far and there is nothing to suggest there is a credible threat and there is no requirement to keep children away from education settings."

He said officers believed that the email was sent by the same source as emails sent to schools in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK but it was "too early to say" who could be behind it.

"We will be working with partners across the UK and internationally to carry out a joined-up investigation," he added.

The education secretary told MSPs that she had held a meeting with police and local authorities.

"As a parent and as a constituency MSP I understand just how concerning this will be for parents, for pupils, for carers and for school staff," Mairi McAllan said.

"I would take this opportunity to repeat Police Scotland's advice that there is nothing to suggest any threats to the public from the content of the emails."

The cabinet secretary added there was a "considerable amount of work" ongoing by Police Scotland and partners across the UK to "understand the motivations and the individuals behind this".

Most local authorities contacted by BBC Scotland said schools were operating as normal but some confirmed pupils had been evacuated.

More than 300 calls were made to police when a similar message was sent to schools around the country on 19 October.

In many areas, pupils were off due to half-term holidays.

On Wednesday the majority of schools in Dumfries and Galloway received the email and some were evacuated as a precaution.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: "Each school community/setting is unique and as such has its own way of supporting and reassuring learners and staff.

"We also know that local police have attended some school settings in a community capacity to assist and reassure."

In Edinburgh Queensferry High School was evacuated and pupils were sent home.

Highland Council confirmed a number of its schools "made the decision to activate their emergency protocols".

Local authorities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, East Lothian, Aberdeenshire and Orkney also confirmed their schools received the message.

In Northern Ireland, the Education Authority (EA) said the "message has similarities with a bogus threat sent last month" which was treated as a hoax by the (PSNI).

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the email originated from outside the UK.

Italian reports said 280 school head teachers had received threats in recent days. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called a meeting of top ministers and intelligence chiefs over the issue.