HUNDREDS of staff and shoppers in city centre buildings were dramatically evacuated after a suspicious package was discovered.

Police and fire services rushed to the scene at a car park just off Harbour Parade in Southampton and officers set up a 200m cordon around the city coach station at about 11am yesterday.

More than 600 members of staff were evacuated from the Old Mutual Wealth building alone after the alarm was raised after the item was found in a nearby car park.

People were told to leave the coach station, the nearby NCP car park, the Emily Davies halls of residence and the walkway to Asda while specialist officers rushed to the scene.

A Hampshire Police spokeswoman said: "The package was declared safe shortly afterwards and the cordon and road closures were immediately stood down.

"It turned out that it had been left there by accident by a member of the public, and was a genuine mistake.

"We don’t take the decision to impose a cordon and evacuate buildings lightly; and we want to use this opportunity to remind people of the importance of not abandoning suitcases or other bags or packages in busy urban areas or transport hubs."

Scared residents took to social media and said that sniffer dogs were seen in the area, as well as a number of police vehicles and a fire engine.

Police have confirmed that the incident has now ended and that the suitcase was just an item of luggage that had been left in a staff car park.

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue spokesman confirmed that a fire engine from St Mary’s was sent at 11.24am but returned to the station at 11.59am.

A National Express spokesman said: "An unidentified package was found at Southampton Coach Station earlier today, leading to the station briefly being closed to passengers.

"The police were called and the situation was found to be a false alarm which was swiftly resolved with minimal disruption. The station has since reopened and is operating as normal."

