Police arrest person in connection with "incident" in Bath
A 73-year-old has been arrested
Avon and Somerset Police have arrested a woman following an incident in Bath in which a small number of people reported feeling unwell.
The force said: "The ambulance service was called at approximately 2.30pm yesterday (Monday 29 July) to Stall Street and were informed a woman in possession of a plastic bag had approached members of the public, who then felt ill."
A cordon was then set up to allow emergency services to respond and ensure the wider public remained safe.
The ambulance service initially said they had taken two people to hospital, but ultimately only one woman needed treatment because she was experiencing breathing difficulties and itchy eyes.
She was checked over and discharged later in the evening.
The scene was lifted shortly before 8pm after the area had been checked.
No trace of any chemical or hazardous substance was found.
Police say a 73-year-old was subsequently arrested on suspicion of administering an unknown noxious substance.
Wera Hobhouse, the MP for Bath, has reacted to the news.
She said her thoughts are with those who were taken to hospital following an incident in the city yesterday afternoon.
Chief Inspector Scott Hill, of the Bath Neighbourhood Policing Team, said:
“We’d like to thank the public for their patience and understanding while we dealt with an incident in Bath yesterday.
“All emergency services have a duty of care to their staff and so a decision was made to wear protective clothing while there was uncertainty about what we were dealing with.
“Further enquiries will be required to fully understand what caused some people to experience feeling unwell, but to help us progress that work we have made an arrest as we seek to establish whether any offence has been committed."