Manchester Christmas Market evacuated and cordoned off after bomb scare

 MANCHESTER'S largest Christmas Market has been evacuated by police after a security scare. Police say they received an abandoned 999 call at 4.50am this morning regarding safety at the Christmas Markets in the city centre. 
 

Later, a man claimed a suspicious package had been left in the market. A 19-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of malicious communication after the incident in Albert Square this morning.

Police and sniffer dogs scour the area after reports of a suspicious package

Officers with sniffer dogs searched the closed stalls outside the town hall as police officers guarded all entrances. Uniformed police looked around the site, including in stalls and underneath wooden huts with torches.



A GMP spokesman said: “At 4.50am on Friday 27 November 2015, police received an abandoned 999 call regarding the Christmas Markets in Manchester city centre. Later, a man claimed a ‘package’ had been left in the market.
“The market has been temporarily cordoned off while officers ensure there is no threat to members of the public.”