University of Essex evacuated over suspicious package

Students and staff were evacuated after a suspicious package was discovered

A university was evacuated after the discovery of a suspicious package.

A 100m cordon was placed around a section of the University of Essex.

Essex Police confirmed it had received a call at 11:50 GMT about a suspicious package on the Colchester campus. It later said the package "posed no risk to the public".

The Ministry of Defence's Explosive Ordinance Disposal team was called in and the cordon was lifted at around 16:00.

Students and non-essential staff were allowed to leave

Buildings within three of the university's squares were emptied, with people moved to an area near the library and lakes.

Lectures were cancelled but the university said it was expected to be open as usual on Thursday.

In an email to students, it said no accommodation had been affected and asked for students to make their way home, either on or off campus.

The university tweeted: "Thank you to all our students and staff for reacting swiftly to this incident."

Police were called in and cordoned off the site