Overview
- Officers were called shortly after 8.20am to a report of a suspicious package on the A167 Durham Road in Birtley.
- Nearby properties were evacuated, a large cordon was set up, and GoNorthEast services were diverted from stops between Eighton Lodge and the Red Lion.
- Army bomb disposal used a remote-controlled robot and carried out a controlled explosion on an item taped to a bollard outside the Nisa shop.
- Police later confirmed the package posed no risk, the bomb squad stood down, and the area fully reopened to residents.
- Two men, one in his 40s and one in his 20s, were arrested on suspicion of placing a hoax bomb and remain in custody.