A teenage boy believed to be at the center of an Minecraft gamers squabble has been arrested after an explosion that shut down hundreds of colleges and schools across the UK.

Hertfordshire police detained the 19-year-old after 24,000 threatening emails sent to schools were sent out warning of a bomb threat and asking for money.

These emails appeared to be sent by VeltPvP the gaming network. VeltPvP is which is a Minecraft player-versus-player server is the same service that companies use to sell their products to gamers.

Following a massive hoax bomb that forced the closure of hundreds of schools across the UK, a teenager believed to be at the heart of the Minecraft gamers' feud was detained by police from Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire police arrested the 19-year-old after 24,000 emails were sent to schools warning of an impending attack.

These emails were sent to disable VeltPvP and were designed to cause the abuse of the domain to be suspended.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) stated that there was no credible threat to the emails' received this week.

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They acknowledged that they were aware of the concerns of teachers and parents, but stressed that there was no credible threat from the emails that were sent to schools.

"However we take the communication seriously. As this is a live investigation we cannot comment further.'

Following the bomb hoax emails, signs were placed outside Cardinal Road School in Feltham

The feud was based on the belief that rivals were involved in illegal activities in order to hinder one another from doing business.

When asked if he regretted the effects the letters had on students who were forced to leave, one of the hoaxers said, "It is terrible, it's not the best thing."

Placing the blame on VeltPvP, the hoaxer said the network had enaged in a series of Direct Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks - which he claims were used to stop other rival Minecraft servers.

Parents were urged to collect their children after the bomb hoax threat email

In an official statement, VeltPvP said: 'We've been harassed by cybercriminals who are trying to harass us in any way possible.

We're very sorry for everyone who has to go through this, but remember that it's not real.'

The email was sent to more than 400 schools and colleges across the nation. It claimed that a bomb had already been planted and that it could explode if no money was provided.

Cardinal Road School in Feltham, west London was one of the schools who received the hoax email.

Police forces from London, Bristol, Liverpool, Bedfordshire and the the North East were among those conducting an investigation.

Parents at some schools asked to to pick up their children due to fears about the emails.

Six schools across Hertfordshire were also among those affected: Abbots Hill in Hemel Hempstead, Valley School in Stevenage, The Sele School in Hertford, Duncombe School in Hertford, Stanborough School in Watford and St Albans High School.