Birmingham 'safe'

2005-07-10 07:39

London - The cordon around central Birmingham was to lift on Sunday police said after evacuating about 20 000 people overnight, citing a threat to Britain's second city.

Bomb disposal squad officers said a suspect box with wires and a switch investigated in the Broad Street entertainment quarter was harmless.

The central English city's inner ringroad was sealed off to incoming traffic and thousands were evacuated from the city centre and Broad Street area over a "substantial threat".

"The bomb disposal squad have now examined the device found at the hotel in Broad Street and they are satisfied it is not a credible device," a West Midlands Police spokesperson said.

Sky News television said cordons in part of the city centre were beginning to be removed.

"Searches along Broad Street are still ongoing. Broad Street and Chinatown both remain cordoned off until further searches are complete," she said.

Police said the incident was probably not connected to Thursday's bomb attacks in London.

- AFP