Blackpool man let go by police after 'hand grenade' reports turned out to be false alarm

The suspected explosive that was found at Raikes Parade yesterday morning turned out to be an ‘inert device’, police have said.

A 40-year-old man who was arrested in connection with the incident has been released without charge.

People living on the middle and lower end of the street towards Hornby Road were awoken at around 6am and evacuated from their homes by police. Residents on the top end of the street, towards Church Street, were also evacuated in the following hours of the morning.

The evacuees, some of them still in their pyjamas, were instructed to go to the Stanley Park community centre while police cordoned off the scene, though some residents chose to remain nearby and wait for the situation to be resolved.

Bomb disposal experts from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were called in to retrieve the device.

The incident came to an end at around 12.20pm. Police reopened the road and people were allowed to return to their homes.