Police cordon across St Mary’s Butts Lynda Bowyer Photography
A suspicious package thought to have been a bomb led to part of a busy Reading town centre street being closed off on Tuesday, February 11.
The package was posted to the Army recruitment office in St Mary’s Butts – and follows in the wake of a similar package which was received by an Army and RAF Careers Office in Chatham. It is thought to have arrived in the post.
The affected area sealed off was from the Pavlov’s Dog pub to the Army Recruitment Centre, next to the Broad Street Mall and opposite the Minster Church of St Mary. The road itself was not closed and Reading Buses continued to run.
Police cordoned off parts of St Mary’s Butts in Reading from 2pm and called in a bomb disposal team from the army to deal with the explosive device. Although it could have gone off, army experts were able to make it safe and no explosion occured.
Bomb disposal officers from the Royal Logistics Corps were seen to search the Recruitment Centre and take away several bagged articles for examination. The area was declared safe at around 5pm.
A statement from Thames Valley Police said: “After the envelope that had been delivered to the building had been made safe the scene was stood down at about 5pm. Enquiries are now ongoing which will involve whether the incident in Chatham is linked to one in Reading.”
The Counter Terrorism Unit for the South East will conduct the investigation.
Pictures: Lynda Bowyer Photography
Read 1849 times Last modified on Tuesday, 11 February 2014 19:33
