Inquiries were continuing last night into a bomb threat that led to dozens of homes in a north-east town being evacuated.
Properties along Fraserburgh’s Buchan Road were cleared when a tinfoil-wrapped package was found near the front door of a Co-op Food supermarket.
Police called in an Army bomb disposal team from Edinburgh following the discovery at 11.45am on Monday.
Residents were only allowed to return to their homes seven hours later after a remote-controlled robot had detonated the device.
Last night, a spokesman for the Co-op said it was business as usual while the firm supported the police investigation.
He added: “The incident is over and the store is back open as normal.”
The chairman of the town’s safety group has urged anyone with information on the package to call the police.
Councillor Brian Topping said: “I’m relieved that it wasn’t a bomb, but the fact is that it has caused a lot of concern and a lot of inconvenience for the shops and tenants there.
“In this day and age, when you see things going on around the world with terrorists, it’s certainly far from being funny.”
The package was spotted on the pavement next to a drainpipe by a local gardener, who reported it to the shop manager.
The 40-year-old father-of-two said it was about the size of a cereal box and covered in tin foil with wires coming out of it, two nails on either side and a battery positioned on top.
The man said he feared it was a bomb.
“It wasn’t until I got up close to it and saw all the wires – you just didn’t know whether it was going to go off,” he said.
The remote-controlled robot detonated the device in an explosion heard from several streets away.
Police have confirmed the parcel did not contain any hazardous materials and have urged anyone with information to call 101 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.