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Greater Manchester Police have confirmed a controlled explosion has been carried out at Old Trafford after the discovery of a mobile phone attached to a gas pipe in the stadium.

Manchester United's final Premier League game of the season was abandoned following the discovery of a suspect package.

Fans were evacuated from their Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and Stretford End after the discovery of the package in a north-west quadrant of the 76,000-seater stadium.

Police were called in to assess the package, which was discovered less than 30 minutes before kick-off, with the ground already filling up with fans from United and Bournemouth.

Bomb disposal experts arrived soon afterwards and Greater Manchester Police confirmed: "A controlled explosion has just been carried out within the stadium by bomb disposal experts at Old Trafford."

The game came over the public address system at Old Trafford at 3.15pm, after fans outside had been told to get as far away from the ground as possible.

A statement from United read: "Due to the discovery of a suspect package in the North-West Quadrant of the ground, the match with Bournemouth been abandoned today on police advice.

(Image: Getty)

"People in the stadium are asked to remain in their seats while the forecourt is cleared of fans already evacuated from the stadium. Further announcements will be made asap."

Fans and those in the Sir Bobby Charlton stand and East Stand were told to remain in their seats, while the decision was taken to abandon the game, on the advice of Police.

Media working at Old Trafford were granted an extra half-an-hour to work, but the entire stadium was evacuated.

No announcement has been made as to when the game, which could determine whether United make the Champions League and which could be worth £5million in prize money to Bournemouth, will go ahead.

But a Premier League statement said it would "seek to rearrange the fixture as soon as practically possible".

(Image: Getty)

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was deep in conversation with club secretary John Alexander inside the stadium moments before the decision was made to call off the game.

Meanwhile, Manchester United player Ander Herrera told Spanish radio: "We're still in the dressing room, seems we'll be the last to leave. There's been nerves and tension.

The package was discovered by a matchday steward and the decision was taken to abandon the game because it could not be declared safe before the game could go ahead.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

(Image: Neil Ashton)

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore was at Old Trafford and has said it is too early to say when the game will go ahead.

Scudamore was deep in conversation with United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward at Old Trafford prior to the game being abandoned.

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United have also said it is too early to say when the game will be played, and whether anything will be done for those Bournemouth fans who made the 500-mile round trip to Manchester.

The Red Devils went into the game needing a win to have a chance of securing top-four finish and chance of Champions League football.

(Image: Getty) (Image: Reuters)

Rivals Manchester City were facing Swansea, sitting two points ahead in the Premier League table.

The club confirmed that talks had taken place with the Premier League to see whether kick-off should be delayed at the Liberty Stadium, but they were told to continue as normal.

Updates here:

With Premier League prize money riding on where a team finishes in the league, the Manchester United vs Bournemouth clash will need to be played in the coming days, though no official announcement has been made.

Greater Manchester Police assistant chief constable John O’Hare said: “We are doing everything we can to investigate this item as quickly as possible, however our priority is obviously to ensure the safety of everyone in the stadium and surrounding area.

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"As a result, today’s game has been abandoned and a controlled evacuation of the stadium has now taken place.

“We are awaiting the imminent arrival of military colleagues to come and support us and establish what exactly we are dealing with.

“We don’t make these decisions lightly and we have done this today to ensure the safety of all those attending. I am thankful for everyone’s support and assistance and we will continue to provide updates on this matter as soon as they become available.”