Stanhope Road suspicious device '˜was found in student's room' in Portsmouth university accommodation block

Hundreds of University of Portsmouth students were evacuated from Catherine House, in Stanhope Road, when police and bomb disposal were called to the city centre site at 4.18pm yesterday.

Hampshire police has confirmed a controlled explosion was later carried out in Victoria Park.

A police car remains outside the building today as students head for morning lectures.

A first year accounting and finance student, who asked not to be named, said she returned to the block from Gunwharf Quays to find the building evacuated.

The 20-year-old said: ‘Police officers were talking to other students saying how there’s a bomb inside.

‘That’s what I heard, that there was a bomb and the bomb disposal team was inside.’

She added: ‘I was kind of scared, it’s my stuff up there and my accommodation. I didn’t really expect that.’

Another student who lives in the block, a 22-year-old studying biology, said police had refused to say what was going on.

‘The fire alarm went off and I looked outside to see if it was a fake and there were loads of people outside and everyone was rushing out.

‘The police were saying “make your way as far away from the area as possible”.

‘I saw the bomb disposal outside.

‘It was crazy.’

He said people were evacuated for more than five hours.