Court evacuated over 'potentially hazardous substance'

Loughborough Courtroom streetviewImage source, Google
Image caption,

Loughborough Court was evacuated "as a precaution", the Ministry of Justice said

  • Published

A court building was evacuated after a "potentially hazardous substance" was found inside.

Emergency services - police and firefighters - were called to Loughborough Court in Leicestershire at about 09:20 BST on Friday after reports the unknown substance had been discovered.

Roads surrounding the building were closed as a precaution, but have since reopened, police said.

No injuries have been reported and inquiries to identify the substance are continuing.

The fire service said it had deployed seven appliances to the scene including its HazMat Unit. They have all since left the scene.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said the building, which is home to magistrates' and crown court, was evacuated as a precaution and people were allowed back into the building after confirmation that there was "no danger".

He said: "No Crown cases were paused but two magistrates' trials were and will resume this [Friday] afternoon."

Police confirmed no arrests had been made.

Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, external, on X, external, or on Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk, external or via WhatsApp, external on 0808 100 2210.

Related topics