Parents have been allowed to pick up their children from a Melbourne school after a lockdown was lifted following reports of a gunman.

Beveridge Primary School was put in lockdown after a gunman was reportedly spotted near the grounds of the school on the northern fringe of Melbourne, Victoria.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said that the lockdown had now been lifted after police responded to reports of a man with a firearm near the school.

The police contained the area and performed a search for the man.

“The school activated its emergency management plan as a precautionary measure,” she said.

“No threat has been made and no injuries reported.”

Earlier parents were told not to get out of their cars to pick up their children.

Four students claimed to have been threatened by a man wearing a ski mask and carrying a gun. Streets around the scene were cordoned off.