October 9, 2018 5.18 pm This story is over 64 months old

Phew! Lincoln bomb scare was a ‘genuine mistake’

Thankfully, the device was not dangerous

It was a ‘genuine bit of lost shopping’ with some electronic equipment in it that prompted a huge police and tactical response in Lincoln city centre on Tuesday.

Dozens of police officers, ambulance crews and the bomb disposal unit were called to Lincoln Central bus station after midday on October 9 after people reported a suspicious package with “wires hanging from it” on a bus coming from Nettleham.

Hundreds of people waited behind a police cordon while the bomb squad investigated the package.

After three hours, the cordon was lifted and everybody was relieved to find out that the package wasn’t dangerous and they could continue their journey and collect any belongings left behind in the bomb scare.

Lincolnshire Police Chief Inspector Stewart Brinn addressing the media. Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite.

Lincolnshire Police Chief Inspector Stewart Brinn said: “At about 12 o clock today, a bus driver found a suspicious package on one of the buses and took it to the security office in the bus station.

“As result of that, an assessment was made to treat this package as a viable device. We put a 100 metre cordon around the area to evacuate people for public safety reasons.

“The EOD attended and investigated and found that it’s not a bomb or a hoax.

“We’re quite happy it’s a genuine mistake. We’ve lifted the cordon and we’re trying to get Lincoln back to normal.

“It was a genuine bit of shopping with some electronics equipment and there’s no intent on anybody’s behalf to turn it into a hoax. It certainly wasn’t a viable device.”

See our previous coverage of the event to see how the incident unfolded