A section of a north-east town centre had to be closed off during the weekend because a member of the public thought they had spotted a bomb.
A lane connecting Fraserburgh’s Saltoun Square to Castle Street was closed for more than two hours when a white plastic box with wires poking out of it was spotted unattended on the ground.
The box, which was mistaken as an explosive device, sparked fears from those who saw it.
But last night a spokeswoman for the police has said it was “quickly established” that there was no threat to any of the events that had been taking place during the town’s Super Saturday which continued as normal.
The Super Saturday initiative transforms the port’s high street once a month and offers small businesses stalls from which they can offer their goods.
At the weekend, a children’s climbing wall had also been erected to offer youngsters something to do.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the police said the lane had been closed as a precaution.
“Police were called at about 2.40pm,” she said.
“Officers attended. It was quickly established that there was no threat – it was telecommunications equipment that was left behind by BT.
“The street was closed as a precaution and BT engineers were called. It was over by 5pm.”
A spokeswoman for BT said the person who had reported the machinery had done the right thing.
“One of our engineers was called out to the alleyway on Saturday afternoon and was able to reassure police officers that the object reported as suspicious was operational telecommunications equipment,” she added.
“A small, upright pillar used for connecting cables had been damaged and a temporary, clear cover was placed over the wires to protect them while a more complex, permanent repair was planned.
“An eagle-eyed member of the public had spotted the wires through the cover, and thought it looked suspicious, rightly reporting this to police.
“We’re glad it turned out to be a false alarm on this occasion.”
A volunteer who had been helping coordinate the Super Saturday event confirmed that passersby had initially believed the item to be a bomb.
