Residents say all hell broke loose when army bomb disposal experts arrived at residential home in early hours of Sunday

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested after suspected explosive substances were found at a house in Hull.

Army bomb disposal experts were called to the terraced council property along with scores of police, firefighters and paramedics following a tip-off. A number of families were moved out of their homes as a precaution.

The teenager was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning along with a 49-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man.

A multi-agency operation, led by Humberside police, was continued into the night, more than 15 hours after officers arrived in Kilnsea Grove in the east of the city. Some of those evacuated were let back into their properties after the bomb disposal team left on Sunday afternoon but a handful of homes remained cordoned off.

A number of police and fire service vehicles were still parked outside the house and officers have erected a blue forensics tent on the road in front of the property. Earlier, dozens of people living in the area gathered behind the police cordon to watch the soldiers go into the property. One man said: "I can't believe what descended on us. There's army, police, ambulances, four-wheel drive ambulances, fire engines. Everything's here.

"They came in the middle of the night after a tip-off about stuff in the house. Then all hell broke loose. I've not seen anything like it."

Another Kilnsea Grove resident said: "They've just said they've found explosives inside and we're to stay well away. They've got everyone out just in case. You can't be too careful."

A Humberside police spokesman said they received a call at 2.49am on Sunday and confirmed they were "investigating a report of substance(s) which are believed to be inside a residential property". The spokesman said the army's explosives ordnance disposal unit had been deployed as part of a multi-agency response.

Detective Inspector Jason Gourley said: "Our officers arrived at an address in east Hull in the early hours of today. Since then, we have arrested three people who are currently assisting us with our enquiries in connection with substances believed to be at a property on Kilnsea Grove. We are working closely with our partner agencies to ensure the area is safe for the local community, which is why we have put a cordon in place.

"We hope that residents can return to their properties as quickly as possible, but public safety is paramount, so we hope that everyone will obey the police cordons and we will let them know when the police has finished carrying out all relevant enquiries."

Police said the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related.