Police cordoned off the area surrounding a job centre in a Scottish city amid reports a suspicious package had been delivered to the building.
Officers were scrambled to the Dunfermline JobCentre Plus on Foundry Street in the Fife city shortly after 12pm. The building had been evacuated and a perimeter established around it, with traffic redirected along nearby streets.
Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts were contacted to assess the viability of the package.
Locals were reportedly told to remain in their homes while emergency services attend the scene. Police and ambulance crews were first to arrive, followed by a Royal Logistic Corps bomb disposal squad.
Officers confirmed the package was not found to be suspicious.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Police received a report of a suspicious package at a premises on Foundry Street in Dunfermline around 12.15pm on Friday, 28 October, 2022. EOD attended the package was found not to be suspicious.
"The cordon has been lifted.”
Dunfermline JobCentre confirmed it will not reopen for the rest of Friday as a result of the police alert. The JobCentre Plus account for North Scotland on Twitter said: "Dunfermline Jobcentre Plus will be closed for remainder of today."
Jobcentre staff are understood to have returned to the building.
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “We can confirm that emergency services were called to Dunfermline Jobcentre this afternoon (Friday 28 October). Our office remains closed and we hope to reopen as usual on Saturday morning.
"Our staff are contacting customers who have appointments booked to rearrange their meeting. Benefit payments are unaffected.”
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