Bomb squad robot deployed as bus threat ends

Police officers gathered behind a bomb squad van during the scare in Chester city centre

A bomb squad robot was deployed at a city centre bus station to bring to an end a major security scare.

Chester's bus and railway stations were evacuated and shut at 17:00 GMT on Friday as detectives investigated "suspicious activity on two buses".

Cheshire Police later said the report of a package on the buses appeared to have been "malicious" and it wanted to speak to a female passenger who spoke to a bus driver.

The robot was moved inside the cordon towards a bus, with eyewitness Josh Upton reporting a "rather loud" bang and "police told us to retreat".

Mr Upton said: "I asked [the police] if a controlled explosion is taking place and they said 'yes'."

Another witness told the BBC there was a "very loud bang" after the robot moved along the road to one of the buses.

A bomb squad robot was seen moving towards a bus inside the cordon

Cheshire Police said "there was no substance behind the claim made by a passenger that there was a package on either of the buses", one near the railway station and one near the bus interchange.

Det Insp Rupert Morrey said: "It appears to have been malicious and we are doing everything we can to find the person responsible" who "caused widespread disruption in the middle of rush hour".

Officers are checking "an abundance of CCTV" and want to speak to a female passenger who spoke to the bus driver, he added.

The bus and railway stations have reopened following the scare

The force said "all was in order" after the bomb squad made the area safe and a cordon, put in place as a precaution, had now been lifted.

A number of trains were delayed or cancelled during the operation, National Rail said.

Merseyrail and Avanti West Coast said routes from London Euston were affected, while Transport for Wales said services to Cardiff, Crewe, Manchester, and Wolverhampton, were also hit.