The Macclesfield Bomb Scare

Just received this from Insp Gareth Woods:

The following is an update for you all following the bomb hoax incident in Macclesfield yesterday afternoon which brought Macclesfield Town Centre to a virtual standstill. Apologies for the delay in getting this out to you all but I am sure that you will agree that the operational response to such incidents must take priority and that response remains ongoing at the time of typing.

At 3.13pm yesterday afternoon a telephone call was made to McDonalds on the Hurdsfield Retail Park claiming that an explosive device had been placed inside a nearby bin. McDonalds staff contacted the police who responded to the area straight away. Having confirmed that an object was indeed inside the bin in question the area was evacuated and cordoned off.

Our colleagues from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team were called to the area and a controlled explosion was attempted. Due to the fact that the object in question turned out to be a hoax device it didn't physically explode.

The above activity took a significant amount of time to co-ordinate and deliver. As a result it wasn't until around 9pm that the cordons required to safeguard the public were removed. During that time there was significant disruption to local traffic, pedestrians and businesses. In addition the emergency services were committed for the duration to the detriment of other priorities and issues across the area.

Our enquiries have continued since yesterday and the current situation is that the original phone call that was made to McDonalds has now been traced to a telephone box outside the shops in Tytherington. A number of forensic enquiries have been completed in and around the telephone box and house to house enquiries are being conducted in the area by officers this afternoon.

We remain confident that the person who orchestrated this incident is local and that we will be able to trace them. Any information that anyone can provide that can assist the investigation will be most welcome.