Residents in Oldham have spoken of their confusion after a car park was cordoned off following reports of a suspicious item.
Emergency services, including police and the bomb disposal unit, were called to the scene on Drake Close, in Oldham, at around 12pm this afternoon. This was the second call out for officers following reports of ‘suspicious batteries’ earlier today in Bolton.
A cordon was set up around the area, including up to the junction with Crompton Street and Henshaw Street. Residents in the surrounding area were advised to stay in their homes as officers made their enquiries.
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Around an hour later, in a tweet, GMP Oldham confirmed that the suspicious item was a firework. It has since been disposed of safely, it read.
One man, who lives in a property which backs onto the car park, said he noticed the police had cordoned off the area this morning. “They were searching in the grass for something and going up and down,” he said.
“I didn’t know what was going on, but they weren’t letting people go up and see what was happening. All across the car park it was blocked off, and they left the gates up. I thought it might be something in the gate, but I don’t know.”
A woman who lived opposite said: “It was all really strange. They came round saying we had to move our cars from the car park, then blocked it off.
“I wasn’t sure what was going on. Then no sooner they’d done that they said it was alright and they’d gone.”
And another man said: “The officers blocked off the area outside, they came knocking on our doors saying it was a bomb scare. Then it was all blocked off with tape and nobody could leave.
“They told us to stay indoors until they’d sorted it out. I’m not sure where it was or what it was.”
GMP later tweeted : “The suspicious item is believed to be a commercial firework and has been taken away and disposed of by the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). Many thanks to everyone for being vigilant and patient today.”
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