POLICE have confirmed that a suspicious package discovered earlier today was a false alarm, after cordoning off part of Trowbridge Town Centre.
Officers received a call at around 1.30pm saying a suitcase had been abandoned outside the Next store, opposite The Gateway Shopping Centre.
However, after putting a cordon in place and evacuating the store as a precaution, officers discovered the case was empty.
A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: "Wiltshire Police attended an incident this lunchtime (Friday 25th September 2015) where a suitcase had been left outside a shop in Trowbridge.
"We received a call from a member of the public around 1.30pm saying that an old looking case had been left outside Next at the Gateway Shopping Centre in Bythesea Road.
"Our officers attended and placed a one hundred metre cordoned around the suitcase. The Next Store was evacuated and we carried out a number of routine safety checks before opening the case to find it was empty.
"The area cordon was lifted around 2.50pm."
Trowbridge Neighbourhood Policing Team tweeted after the incident:
We attended an incident this lunchtime where a suitcase had been left outside a shop in Trowbridge causing suspicion, but it was empty.
— Trowbridge Police (@trowbridgenpt) September 25, 2015
Some residents took to twitter after being unable to go shopping:
To the person who left a suitcase in a shop in Trowbridge, thank you very much I now can't get to boots due to police tape
— mia walker (@mizwinky) September 25, 2015
It's all kicking off in Trowbridge there's police tape everywhere.
— Darren Jonesy Jones (@MrThingamajigs) September 25, 2015
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