Reddish fireworks raid: Removing hazardous materials 'taking time'

Supt David Henthorne said removing the materials safely was "taking some time"

Experts have been "working as fast as they can" to remove hazardous materials from a house which was raided as part of an investigation into "illegal fireworks", police have said.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a man, aged 50, was arrested and several houses were evacuated on Middleton Road in Reddish, Stockport, on Thursday.

Supt David Henthorne said removing the items safely was "taking some time".

He said he could not "estimate how much longer" the operation would take.

Several roads were closed and a cordon was put in place near the house on Thursday, which a senior officer said was a precaution.

Supt Henthorne said the force was "doing everything we can" to get residents back in their homes quickly

GMP said the man was detained under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act and remains in police custody.

Supt Henthorne said "specialist colleagues" were "working as fast as they can" to remove the "hazardous materials from the area without endangering any property or any person but, unfortunately, this is taking some time and we cannot estimate how much longer that will be".

He said that was "obviously really frustrating for those who live within the cordon and we thank them for their cooperation and patience so far".

"Ourselves and our partner agencies are doing everything we can to get them back in their homes as soon as it is safe for us to do so," he added.