Bomb scare causes Walsall town centre chaos

Buildings were evacuated, roads sealed off, the bus station closed and trains disrupted when a bomb scare unfolded in Walsall.

The town centre was brought to a standstill for six hours after a holdall with a container of fluid was left at the back of Job Centre Plus in Hatherton Road.

The bus station was closed and thousands of staff evacuated from the Civic Centre after the suspicious package was reported just before 1pm yesterday.

Businesses in Hatherton Road were immediately evacuated and parts of Bridge Street, Lower Bridge Street and Butler's Passage were also closed off.

At 5pm, Tesco in Littleton Street West was also cleared of shoppers for more than two hours. The police helicopter hovered above the town as bomb disposal experts were drafted in and crowds of people gathered around the police cordon.

Officers extended the sealed-off area at 5.30pm, which had a knock-on effect on rush-hour train services.

Trains running between Birmingham New Street and Rugeley Trent Valley were cancelled from 5.40pm for about 30 minutes.

The service between New Street and Walsall was resumed but the service between Walsall and Rugeley TV was cancelled and a replacement bus service put in place. The line was resumed at 8.17pm. The streets were not reopened until 7.15pm when the package was identified as a hoax. Police spokesman Brigg Ford said: "It was a hoax device of sorts. Further examination is required on exactly what the holdall contained. The fluid is not believed to be toxic or hazardous.

"The package will be forensically examined."

Trevor Appleton, boss of Heaven Scent at The Crossing at St Paul's, aged 53, told of the confusion.

He said: "A police officer came inside and told us the building was being evacuated. When I came outside I realised the Civic Centre had been evacuated as well and the bus station – but no one knew what was going on."

Victoria Bryant, aged 23, was shopping in town when the drama unfolded.

She said: "I was heading into the town centre to get some milk for our baby but I couldn't get any further than the post office. There seemed to be thousands of people standing around. It is a bit worrying and a bit close to home for me."

Coincidentally, Walsall Council staff had already undergone a pre-planned evacuation for a fire drill at 3pm before they were then forced to leave the Civic Centre again because of the security alert just before 5pm, adding to the confusion.

Valerie Rudd, a care assistant from Bassetts Street, Alumwell, said: "I came into town to visit the Civic Centre then the fire alarm went off and people started to say it was a bomb scare.

I can't blame them for the precautions I think they have done quite well because of the amount of staff to be moved. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Last Thursday, a child's art project left outside a casino in Stafford Street also caused town centre streets to be closed off at rush hour.

Services at Walsall bus station were back to normal today. The station was closed from 2pm to just after 7.30pm.

Centro spokesman Mark Langford said: "Services had to be rerouted while the police and bomb disposal officers investigated. This inevitably resulted in disruption for passengers and we thank them for their co-operation."