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AFTER the Paris attacks last November we wondered how long it would be before Old Trafford became a target for a bomb scare.

You don’t need to be an expert to understand the devastation that could be caused by an explosion when 75,000 people are gathered in an area covering no more than a square mile.

Security has been stepped up, particularly this season, with cars checked on arrival, laptop bags scrutinised and all media personnel subjected to body searches before being allowed in.

Happily, and perhaps rather surprisingly, in the 16 seasons I have been covering Manchester United there has never been a scare – certainly not one we’ve been told about – and no game has ever been abandoned. Not until yesterday. At first the mood is one of frustration at the inconvenience of it all. Then the black humour kicks in: “It’ll turn out to be someone’s flask and sandwiches!” But when it was confirmed “the suspect package” was a mobile phone attached to a gas pipe, it sent a shiver down my spine. When the bomb squad are shipped in to carry out a controlled explosion, you know it is serious. I was sitting in my normal seat in the press box typing the teams into my laptop 20 minutes before kick-off, when I first became aware something was happening. Thousands of fans were already inside the ground when, in a well-organised drill, a “Code Red” operation was announced over the public address system. The players were told to stop their warm-ups and to leave the pitch as the stewards began the task of then having to evacuate two stands – the North (Sir Alex Ferguson) Stand and the West (Stretford End) Stand.

Kick-off was initially put back 45 minutes as word went round that a “suspect package” had been found in the north-west quadrant – the corner between the North Stand and Stretford End.

At 3.10pm that news was confirmed in an announcement which said the match had been abandoned on police advice.

Supporters remaining in the ground, including the 3,000 who had made the long journey up from Bournemouth, were advised to stay in their seats while the forecourt was cleared of fans who had been in the two stands that were evacuated.

Police sniffer dogs could be seen checking the stands. And a bomb disposal unit was called to Old Trafford as a police helicopter hovered above to add to the sense of drama.