Police evacuated over 500 people from a town hall after a suspicious parcel addressed to Prince Charles sparked a bomb scare, it emerged today.
Staff at Bedford Borough Council called in police just before 10am on Thursday after receiving a ”suspicious” package in the post.
The parcel is believed to have been addressed to Prince Charles and contained an unidentified object similar in size to an iPhone.
Officers evacuated 500 people from the town hall and cordoned off the area for three hours while bomb experts analysed the package.
The device was found to be ”not explosive” and police have now launched a full investigation into the incident.
A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police said: ”The Town Hall was evacuated on Thursday and roads around it closed while a suspicious package was investigated.
”Following the arrival of the EOD team the package was not deemed to be an explosive device and the roads were reopened at approximately 12.20pm.
”Police investigations are ongoing at this time into where the package came from.”
A total of 350 Town Hall staff and 150 members of the public were evacuated following the bomb scare on Thursday morning.
It is believed the parcel was addressed to Prince Charles at a residence in Devon but with the postcode for Bedford Borough Council.
A Bedford Borough Council spokesman said: ”The Town Hall was evacuated and closed on the advice of the police due to the discovery of a suspicious package.
”The police are currently investigating the incident. The Town Hall was re-opened at half past twelve on Thursday with business returning to normal.”
