Lloyds Bank and high street "emergency" evacuation over "bomb" - that is in fact someone's bag

Staff and customers were forced to flee Lloyds Bank in High Street, Ringwood, around 3pm on Monday as police and a specialist explosive search dog scrambled to the scene to deal with the potential "bomb".

The road was closed and a cordon set up as members of the public were forced to keep as far away from the bank as possible. One eyewitness said: “It was scary. One minute everything was normal then suddenly the road is closed off and police and a bomb search dog are there.”

But people need not have worried - as the suspicious package turned out to be a customer’s bag that was merely unattended. A Lloyds spokeswoman said: “We closed our Ringwood branch temporarily after a bag was left unattended. The branch was reopened after colleagues identified the owner.”

Recalling the dramatic scene, PC Ian Bigland said: “What started off as a routine shift, turned into an emergency call that a 'suspect package' had been noticed by staff in a high street bank and that they were evacuating the building. We were on scene within a few minutes and quickly acted to cordon off the roads and inform the surrounding businesses. An explosive search dog was called who quickly used his nose to tell us that the package was safe.” 

A Hampshire police spokesperson said: "We were called at 3.24pm on Monday, February 12, to a report of a suspicious bag in Lloyds Bank on Ringwood High Street. Officers attended and confirmed there was nothing of concern in the bag. The road was reopened at about 4.30pm."