Police confirm man in niqab arrested after town centre is cleared for controlled explosion of package outside Travelodge

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A man in a niqab has been arrested after army bomb-disposal experts made a controlled explosion of a suspicious package in Watford.

Cars and buses were left abandoned as police forced civilians to clear the town centre on Thursday while the bomb squad deployed a robot to detonate a suspicious package outside a Travelodge.

Pictures on Twitter showed officers earlier confronting a figure in Islamic robes and a veil near a bag on the ground. It is not clear if this was the same object destroyed by the bomb squad.

Cordons remained in place on Market Street and High Street, Watford’s main shopping area, on Thursday afternoon while experts scoured the area. The town’s ring road was also closed to traffic.

Police were called to reports of a suspicious package outside the Travelodge on Market Street just after 11am. Within 20 minutes officers began closing roads and evacuating buildings around the town centre while bomb disposal experts from the Army Logistical Corps made their way to the scene.

The suspect was arrested on nearby Clarendon Road at 12.21pm. He was dressed in full-length, Islamic-style black robes with a niqab covering his face.

Bomb squad experts arrived half an hour later and deployed a bomb-disposal robot to investigate before making a controlled explosion at 1.20pm. Roads remained closed, however, with police advising civilians it could be hours before they are allowed back into the area.

Roads into the town were blocked to prevent traffic entering the area, and businesses close to where the suspicious package was found were evacuated. Just after 1.30pm bystanders heard a sound “like a gunshot” and, 10 minutes later, Hertfordshire Constabulary said a device had been destroyed in a controlled explosion.

A man has been arrested and is in custody, the force said. Pictures on social media showed that he was wearing a niqab when tackled by police.

Police said the man was carrying two rucksacks, one of which was one branded with Peppa Pig and the other with a ladybird. Both bags contained children’s books.



A police statement said: “A suspicious device found in Watford town centre has been safely destroyed following a controlled explosion by bomb-disposal experts based with the army.

“Experts remain at the scene making further assessments and follow-up enquiries. This work is likely to continue for some while and as a precaution, cordons and road closures in Market Street and the High Street will remain in place. The ring road has also been closed to traffic.

“Public safety is at the forefront of the police operation and we would ask people to avoid the centre of Watford until further notice. As part of the ongoing investigation, a man has been arrested in connection with the incident and is being taken into police custody.”