Major alert as bag left on bus
POLICE were last night searching for a man after a major security alert was sparked by a suspicious bag on a bus in Salford during evening rushhour.
Bomb disposal officers and a sniffer dog were scrambled to Bury Old Road shortly before 6pm when the driver raised the alarm.
Passengers were evacuated from the First service and roads around the area were sealed off.
Investigations confirmed that there was nothing ‘sinister’ about the package, believed to be a rucksack, but the male owner has not been found and police are now searching for him.
The Salford scare happened just hours after the terrorist attack at Westminster which left five people dead and 40 seriously injured. Greater Manchester Police said it was understandable that people in Salford would be concerned following the London events. They confirmed that nothing suspicious was found in the bag but they were trying to trace the owner. No more details have been revealed about the contents, or the owner.
Officers were first alerted to reports of a suspicious bag on a bus shortly after 5.50pm.
Part of Bury Old Road was closed off to pedestrians and traffic for around an hour-and-a-half.
People were asked to avoid the area and stay indoors while specialist officers dealt with the incident.
They used a sniffer dog to check the contents of the bag, which was deemed safe.
The road was eventually reopened at around 7.20pm.
Tailbacks stretched along Bury Old Road following the rush-hour disruption.
Chief Inspector Mark Dexter, of GMP’s Special Operations team, said the incident has been deemed as non-suspicious.
He added: “Officers from the Specialist Operations Team supported by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue staff worked quickly to examine the bag and concluded that the contents were not suspicious.
“We are conscious that people will be concerned following the events in London, there is nothing to indicate that this incident was anything sinister.”
A spokesman for First Bus confirmed that the incident happened on a vehicle within their fleet.
They said: “The road has now reopened and we are pleased with how the police assisted with this incident.”