What should have been a normal day shopping in Trowbridge this afternoon was turned to chaos as a suspected bomb was found in the Shires, leading to the evacuation of the shopping centre.

Walking to town earlier we couldn’t understand why all round the Shires Gateway was busy until we looked across and saw the Shires was blocked by a police car and the car park was near empty. Walking into town, we saw staff from the likes of Iceland were all gathered round by Pet Planet and people were being prevented from walking down the side of the building.

Listening to people talk, we were able to establish that a suspicious parcel had been found in the Shires. Looking now according to The Wiltshire Times, staff and shoppers were evacuated from the shopping centre at around 1.30pm.

Once in town, we could see all the people gathered at the end of the Market Street, which had been closed as the fire brigade, police and bomb disposal ensured the area was safe. At just before 3.30pm, a bang was heard as the suspicious item was disposed of in a controlled explosion.

According to BBC Wiltshire on Twitter, “A controlled explosion has taken place at The Shires in Trowbridge, the contents of the suitcase were found NOT to have been suspicious.”