A CONTROLLED explosion has been carried out on a suspect package found in a city centre building.

A loud bang was heard from inside County House on St Mary's Street, Worcester, shortly after bomb disposal experts arrived. Police have since confirmed that the procedure was carried out.

Emergency crews were called at 11.08am after a 'suspect package' was discovered in the building.

A 100-metre cordon was put in place and police and fire officers evactuated both County House and the surrounding buildings, including Worcester Crown Court.

West Mercia Police confirmed that "specialist teams" were dealing with the incident.

St Mary's Street and Sansome Walk are still closed to the general public and traffic is being diverted away from the area.

Neil Pigott, Group Manager Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Fire Crews were on standby to deal with the potential consequences of any explosion.

"Because of the large densely populated area that needed to be evacuated fire crews assisted police in maintaining a safe cordon to ensure the public were protected from potential harm.”

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