Sugar causes Passport Office lockdown

Emergency services at the scene A mystery white powder sent in a letter to Peterborough Passport Office which resulted in a large police cordon and staff being quarantined was discovered to be sugar. Emergency services were called to the office in Northminster near the city centre at about 4.10pm on Thursday.

Police, fire and ambulance crews were called to the incident following the discovery of the powder in a passport application delivered to the office.

Staff who came into contact with the envelope were quarantined while emergency services analysed the envelope.

Despite police advising people to avoid the area, a large number of people gathered outside to watch the drama unfold.

The road outside the office was shut to allow police and ambulance crews to access the scene.

All staff were allowed to leave later in the evening and nobody was harmed thankfully when the substance turned out to be sugar.

The cordon was eventually lifted at about 6.30pm.

A police spokeswom- an said: “We were called at around 4.10pm to reports that a suspicious substance had been found in a passport application at the Passport Agency in Peterborough.

“Precautions were taken to ensure staff and the public were safe. The substance was later found to be sugar.”

The police spokesman said it was believed there was no malicious intent behind the sending of the application with the sugar inside, and officers would not be speaking to the person who sent the application.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said they had sent their Hazardous Area Response Team and an