A 'suspicious item' that caused the evacuation of a major train station and disruption to services was actually a cannabis grinder that looked like a hand grenade.
Birmingham New Street station was immediately evacuated on Monday afternoon (October 31), with emergency services swarming the site after the concerning discovery. It caused major disruption to services that travelled through the station, including the hourly train to Manchester Piccadilly.
The station announced that British Transport Police were at the station after a 'suspicious item' had been reportedly found on the platform. National Rail also announced the closure shortly after 3.30pm, warning of possible delays of up to 60 minutes or cancellations to be expected.
READ MORE Murder investigation launched after man dies in Manchester flat
British Transport Police had initially confirmed they received a report of a suspicious item on a platform at the station, with huge cordons erected around the site as the item was assessed. It came after a person at the station claimed a train conductor told passengers a suspected hand grenade had been found at the station on platform one.
Disruption was expected throughout Monday evening, however, in an update, a British Transport Police spokesperson said the item had been assessed and was deemed non-suspicious. The station reopened again a short time later.
The major security alert had meant no trains were allowed in or out of the busy station. However it later reopened at around 5pm, with services continuing as normal.
A British Transport police spokesperson told BirminghamLive : "The item has now been assessed and deemed non-suspicious. It’s a cannabis grinder designed to resemble a hand grenade."
Read the latest headlines here.
READ NEXT:
- Dad accused of murdering baby daughter denies lying to police and insists 'I did not cause these horrible injuries to my little girl'
- Woman took teenage son on revenge mission against her mum after complaining she had been frozen out of family will
- Man went to the doctor with sporadic back pain and gets horrifying diagnosis
- Manchester's lost burger bar loved as much for its cocktails 'paved the way for McDonald's'
- Student, 19, at centre of Fallowfield murder investigation named as family pays tribute to 'bubbly, lively, beautiful boy'
