Police have lifted a cordon around Birmingham city centre after about 20 000 people were evacuated overnight amid bomb fears in Britain’s second city, though a top officer virtually ruled out links to London’s terror attacks.
Bomb-squad officers carried out four controlled explosions on a bus, unrelated to the ”substantial threat” that sparked the police evacuation, before ruling a second suspect package harmless.
The second package, a box with wires coming out and a switch on top, was found in a hotel in the Broad Street entertainment quarter.
Police lifted the cordon on incoming traffic to the central English city’s inner ring road at 5.45am local time, but confirmed searches were ongoing in Broad Street.
Police said the threat was probably not connected to Thursday’s bomb attacks in the British capital, which killed at least 50 people.
”A section of Broad Street remains closed but all other roads are now re-opened,” a West Midlands Police spokesperson said.
”The bomb-disposal squad have now examined the device found at the hotel in Broad Street and they are satisfied it is not a credible device,” she said.
Stuart Hyde, the force’s assistant chief constable, explained late on Saturday the measures were taken following information about a threat to the area.
”We have evacuated an area of Birmingham city centre … and we are asking people who are there at the moment to go home,” Hyde said.
”I do not believe that the incident that we are dealing with this evening is connected with the events of July 7 in London,” he added. ”I want to make that pretty clear.”
Police said the decision to close a large part Birmingham and evacuate an estimated 20 000 people had not been taken lightly.
”We have made this decision after careful analysis and consideration and we are very, very grateful to the public for their understanding,” Hyde told a news conference. ”We believe it is a proportionate response to the information.”
Hyde said the Broad Street zone — an area known as the Golden Mile, which is packed with bars and clubs — and the Chinatown area had been shut off.
Police searched bars, restaurants and clubs, and patrons were also frisked as they came and went.
Revellers who would normally have been enjoying themselves in city bars, pubs and clubs were told to leave by police officers deployed to Broad Street.
A police helicopter patrolled the skies as traffic stood at a standstill around the city, with officers on the inner ring road stopping vehicles entering the city centre.
An arts centre was open for those left stranded and Aston University was on standby.
Birmingham club owner Allan Sartori told ITV News evacuating the city centre would have cost ”a lot of people a lot of money”.
However, ”people’s lives are far more important than money in a situation like this”, he added.
French student Natalie Perrier (19) was evacuated from her flat in the zone.
”I saw helicopters in front of my house, there were three police cars as well going around the streets,” she said. ”I was just scared. I didn’t know what was happening.”
Sophie Dent, a 23-year-old accountant, was going to a party at the student union in Aston University, about a 10-minute walk from the centre of town.
”We went for a drink at a friend’s flat inside the university halls and then heard about the bomb scares and that people were getting evacuated from the city centre,” Dent said.
Birmingham is no stranger to terror strikes.
The notorious Irish Republican Army pub bombings of 1974 were some of the most serious atrocities committed in mainland Britain, killing 21 people and wounding scores more. — Sapa-AFP