Worker finds ‘box with wires’ in bomb scare
BUSINESSES AND BUILDING SITES EVACUATED AS POLICE RUSH TO SCENE OF ‘POTENTIALLY SUSPICIOUS DEVICE’
A SUSPICIOUS box left in some long grass caused a mass evacuation and the closure of one of Manchester’s busiest roads.
Great Ancoats Street, between Adair Street and Store Street, was closed for more than an hour after a ‘potentially suspicious device’ was discovered on Chapeltown Street.
The device was discovered by a construction worker, who was working on Longacre Street. They called police.
A cordon was quickly put in place around Great Ancoats Street, covering Chapeltown Street, Longacre Street, and Pollard Street, causing traffic chaos in the area.
Dozens of police cars as well as ambulances and fire officers also attended.
Tram services that run through the area, from Ashton to Piccadilly, were also suspended while investigations were carried out.
Construction workers were told down tools and move outside the cordon, while surrounding businesses, including Ibis and Leonardo Hotels and Costa Coffee, were also evacuated.
Specialist search units and
police dogs were called to the scene and it was soon discovered the suspicious item was not ‘viable.’
The M.E.N. understands the device was a taped together box containing phone and laptop chargers as well as several wires.
A police officer who carried the box away said they ‘wanted to be on the safe side.’
After confirming the device to be non-suspicious, cordons were quickly lifted on Great Ancoats Street and Longacre Street, with staff able to go back to work.
GMP released a statement at this time, saying: “Cordon now lifted in the city centre. Following an incident earlier today where a suspicious device was discovered in the Great Ancoats Street area of the City Centre, we can now confirm that the device has been assessed as non-suspicious. The road closures have been lifted. We would like to thank the public for their patience and co-operation.”
The workman who discovered the box said: “I sat on the fence as I always do and saw the box with wires coming out of it.
“I called police to be safe and when an officer came up to me saying ‘did you call about the bomb’ I was like what? I didn’t expect that at all, then we were all told to leave.”
Greater Manchester Police were contacted for confirmation on the nature of the device.
It is not known if anyone has been arrested in connection with the incident.