St Albans homes evacuated after 'suspicious' device found Published duration 4 August 2019

image copyright Google image caption Police said they found the suspicious item which sparked the scare while carrying out a search at an address in Approach Road on Saturday

A number of homes had to be evacuated after a suspicious device was found on Saturday, police said.

The device was "safely detonated" in a controlled explosion after bomb disposal experts were called by police to Approach Road, St Albans.

Hertfordshire Police said the area was sealed off and residents in the area were helped to find alternative accommodation.

It said: "Further investigations revealed the object was not viable."

Police said the 100m cordon put in place as a safety measure had been lifted.

Several roads that were shut have been reopened.

Officers called in bomb disposal experts, who removed the item to a nearby safe location, while carrying out a search on an unrelated matter at a home in Approach Road just before 21:00 BST, police said.

Ch Supt Geoff Camp said: "We take all incidents of this nature seriously.

"It transpired that there was no risk, but we could not be certain of this until the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) had completed their work."

Inquiries were still under way, police said.