Home-brewing kit sparks bomb squad call-out in Fife

Potentially dangerous substances which caused the evacuation of a street in Fife and the bomb disposal squad to be called out were later found to be for the home-brewing of alcohol, police have said.

Police discovered the body of a man alongside "potentially volatile and flammable items'' when they were called to a property in Kirkcaldy on Tuesday evening.

After officers arrived at the scene on Balfour Street, a bomb squad was called out and neighbouring properties were evacuated.

Residents were later allowed to return home and it has now been confirmed the items were not a threat to the public.

Chief Inspector Tom Brown, local area commander for Kirkcaldy, said: "We would like to take this opportunity to reassure local residents within the Balfour Street area, and the wider community within Kirkcaldy, that there was no risk to the public following the police and EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) response to an address.

"Officers had initially attended to conduct inquiries into the sudden death of a 37-year-old man and during this time they found some items within the property which gave them reasonable cause for concern.

"As a precaution, neighbouring homes were evacuated until the EOD conducted their inquiries.

"It has since been established that the items were used in the production of home-brewed alcohol and did not pose a risk to the public.''

Officers are treating the man's death as unexplained.

Mr Brown added: "We thank those affected for their patience and co-operation while expert assessment of the items concerned was carried out.

"The man's death is currently being treated as unexplained, however there appear to be no suspicious circumstances."