Six-hour search after gun alert
Police give all-clear after search of derelict site
CRIME: Police have given the all-clear after a six-hour search of a disused brewery following reports that a man carrying a gun had been spotted inside the building.
After several hours of drama officers decided there was “no substantive evidence” to back up the alert at the Cannon Brewery site in Sheffield.
POLICE HAVE given the all-clear after a six-hour search of a disused brewery following reports that a gunman had been spotted inside, causing traffic chaos in a Yorkshire city.
After several hours of drama officers decided there was “no substantive evidence” to back up the initial report.
South Yorkshire Police thanked the public for their patience after traffic delays and other disruption caused by the alert at the Cannon Brewery site in Sheffield.
The force said that “in the current climate, we will always take any report of this nature seriously”.
Officers had sealed off a large part of the Neepsend area of the city after the force had received reports that a man had entered the site with a gun at about 5.15am yesterday.
Workers were let back into their workplaces and cordons were lifted at about 11.15am, following the search by armed officers.
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “Officers have now completed a thorough search of the disused brewery following reports made to police this morning that a man had been seen entering the site in the Neepsend Lane area of Sheffield, and he was believed to be in possession of a firearm.
“Following the search and inquiries carried out, police are confident there is no substantive evidence to this report and want to reassure the public there is no threat or danger following the incident.”
Superintendent Scott Green said: “In the current climate, we will always take any report of this nature seriously and put measures in place to ensure the safety of the public as this is, and will always be, paramount.”
In the current climate we always take reports of this nature seriously. Superintendent Scott Green of South Yorkshire Police
He praised the city for its response to the situation.
“I want to thank the public for their patience and understanding with this incident, as there has been major disruption in Sheffield this morning and we appreciate this has caused significant traffic delays and people being unable to attend their place of work and go about their daily business.
“I would always encourage anyone to report incidents of this nature to the police, as we will always take action to ensure the city is kept safe and free from harm.”
Earlier workers and residents caught up in the chaos spoke of their fears about the situation before the all clear was given.
Stephen Younger, aged 57 and from Clowne, works at Credit Style nearby. He said: “He could be anywhere. This is so disturbing. Unfortunately it is the way of the world these days – you are not safe anywhere.”
His colleague Georgia Fletcher, aged 19, added: “It’s normally quiet here. To have a gunman on the loose is worrying and scary. You just don’t know why he is carrying a weapon these days, it is frightening.”
Local resident Ben Monnie, aged 38, added: “It’s concerning that there a gunman reported at large. This is a major bus route and a residential area. There are lots of young people and families.
“It’s normally very quiet here. I’m quite shocked, I have only lived in Sheffield for 18 months and gun crime here isn’t something I have heard of.”
Ian Fox, who works locally, said: “We just came down Rutland Road and it was blocked off with a police cordon. It’s not very good at all, is it?
“In this day and age it seems to be more rife than ever.
“It’s an inconvenience, yes, but it’s good that they’re protecting the public.”
Neepsend is one of Sheffield’s oldest industrial centres and is now mainly made up of industrial units and derelicts sites.