Bomb squad called to street in Blackpool after reports of hand grenade
Blackpool police have cordoned off Raikes Parade while the incident is ongoing
Last updated 25th Feb 2021
Around 30 properties have been evacuated from a street in Blackpool after police were called to reports of a hand grenade this morning.
They were woken up around 5am are currently being looked after at the nearby sports centre. Police have been on the scene and a cordon has been in place since then too.
Donald is one of the residents evacuated. He said:
"We got informed there was a grenade in one of the properties down our road and we were told to evacuate to the sports centre.
"It was a little bit frightening because I didn't know what house it was in, whether it was in my own house because it's a communal building.
"My first thoughts were to find out what was going on outside my house I went outside an saw that it had been cordoned off so I went in and waited for them to contact me or to hear what happened on the radio.
"I saw the police in a couple of properties, there was the armed forces there, bomb disposal - it's serious, you've got to be careful.
"I left straight away. It didn't take me more than 10 minutes to leave the house. Everyone was leaving
"Everything's fine at the sports centre. We're safe, we're getting fed.
"We're hoping that they're going to find out what's going on so we can got back to the property.
"I've never come across this in 44 years."
A man has been arrested and the explosive ordnance disposal team is attending.
In a statement, police said:
"We are currently at the scene of an ongoing incident in Blackpool.
"We were called to a report a suspected hand grenade had been found at an address in Raikes Parade.
"A cordon is in place and around 30 properties have been evacuated.
"The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team is aware and attending.
"A man has been arrested by police in connection with the incident.
"We will update you with more information in due course.