Residents and businesses on Church Street, Eccles, have been permitted to return to their premises following a bomb scare evacuation this morning.
At around 11am, staff working on a new 22-storey tower on Church Street found what was feared to be an unexploded World War II bomb. This resulted in an evacuation of the local area around Eccles Shopping Centre.
Fortunately, the perceived ‘bomb’ was found to be an old drainpipe, and businesses could reopen at midday.
A statement from Greater Manchester Police said: “This morning (21st November) police were called to a report of a suspicious item at a building site on Church Street, Eccles.
“The EOD attended and the item was confirmed as non-suspicious. A 50m cordon was put in place while the item was inspected as a safety precaution.”
This affected multiple businesses, including: Station Bar, Mclaren and Co. Barbers, and The Malaga Drift Coffee Co. The bars were left understaffed for England’s World Cup opener.
Image: Megan Bond
Bradley Caswell, 23, an Accountant at Manchester Residential Management said: “We got a knock on the door from the police, so we went down the road for an hour and then we were told we were able to come back. It didn’t really affect the business.”
One site worker declined to give an official comment but told SalfordNow that the evacuation caused site work to fall behind significantly, and they are now busy, trying to catch up.
To read more about the Church Rd 22-storey development, click for more here.
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