A recycling centre was sealed off for more than four hours yesterday while the bomb squad dealt with a suspect device.
The alarm was raised just after 3pm from the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Pitmedden Road in Dyce after the object was discovered by staff members.
Police sealed off a 100 metre stretch of the road from Pitmedden Drive all the way to Kirkton Avenue as shocked residents watched the unfolding events.
An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit was alerted and dispatched from its headquarters in Edinburgh, arriving at around 6.30pm.
They concluded there was no threat as the object was most likely a collector’s item.
Inspector Garry Spark, speaking from scene, said it would never have been dangerous.
He said: “It was a false alarm.
“They found what looks to be some sort of mortar which is believed to have been a collector’s item.
“It’s the sort of thing people collect and then throw away into a skip.
“It would never have been dangerous but it would have given off smoke.
“The EOD was informed and they made an assessment but are happy to take it away.”
“We thought it was better to check and be on the safe side.”
The road reopened shortly after 7pm.
One witness, who did not wish to be named, said it was unheard of for the area.
She said: “I’ve lived in Dyce for 19 years and I’ve never seen or heard anything like this, it’s usually a quiet place to live.”
Another man said the recycling centre was normally busy.
He said: “I came home from work shortly after 3pm and saw that the police were closing the road.
“It’s a really weird thing to happen in a place like Dyce.
“If anything had exploded it could have been very serious because there would have been people working in the recycling centre and there are a lot of industrial buildings around the centre and the road running past the centre is usually busy as well so it could have been nasty.”
