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Merseyside Police confirmed a suspicious package destroyed in a controlled explosion by the bomb squad in South Liverpool today was "an elaborate hoax."

Police, firefighters and ambulance crews were called to Aigburth Road early this afternoon after the item was discovered near the Territorial Army barracks.

They were joined by the Royal Logistics Corps bomb squad and their remote-controlled robot, who took the decision to deal with the device.

A photo sent to the ECHO by Daniel Yates showed the package in detail, with "WAR OVER IF U WANT IT" written on one side using cut-out lettering alongside a picture of an explosion.

Residents were tweeting about houses being evacuated, while others were diverted away from the area.

A police cordon stretched from the end of Lark Lane, along the entrance of the barracks and down past Wendover Avenue.

In a statement released just after 3pm, Merseyside Police said: "Emergency services were called at about midday to Aigburth Road after reports that a suspicious package had been found.

"Emergency services attended and a cordon was set up around the package as a precautionary measure.

"The Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit (EOD) have examined the object and have declared it to be an elaborate hoax.

"Aigburth Road remains closed at this time whilst officers conduct an evidential search of the area.

"Motorists are advised to avoid the area at the present time and follow diversions that have been put in place."

One Brentwood Avenue resident, who preferred to remain nameless, discovered the package and reported it to police.

The resident said: "It was a cardboard shoebox with newspaper cut-outs on. It had pictures of bombs, explosives and war on it.

"I came home from work and saw it. It was just placed up against a wall.

"We saw the pictures and decided to ring the police. At first they weren't bothered, but once we said it was near the TA, they sent straight away.

"We saw it about 12pm but one of our neighbours said they saw it this morning at about 9.15am."

Another resident, Sarah Martindale, witnessed the controlled detonation from her window.

She said: "We tried to go out to the Albert Dock this morning for the Battle of the Atlantic stuff - then we realised our house was in the middle of a cordoned-off area with police everywhere.

"They said there was a suspicious package around the corner and told us we were within the evacuation zone but would be ok staying where we were.

"We saw the bomb disposal unit arrive out of the front window. 10 minutes later a robot was brought out of the van.

"An arm on the robot slowly picked the package up and raised it slightly off the ground. The next thing there was a really loud bang.

"It looked like feathers at first exploding out of it. Nothing was damaged - it was against a wall and there's no damage to anything.

"There's just bits of paper and fluff left."

The cordon was shortened at around 2:45pm and remained in place until approximately 4.30pm.

Aigburth Road was earlier closed in both directions between the Brentwood Avenue junction and the Parkfield Road junction, causing long tailbacks in the area.