PEOPLE are being reminded of what to do if they find a suspicious package following Monday’s evacuation of Bolton town centre.

Hundreds of people had to be evacuated after a bomb scare at around 12.30pm, following the reports of a suspicious package being found.

Officers and shops around Victoria Square were also told to evacuate by police, who later confirmed that nothing suspicious was found when they examined the package.

The cordon was lifted at around 1.30pm but now people are being reminded of what to do if they discover a potentially suspicious package.

The first piece of advice is to never touch a package they think might be suspicious before trying to identify an owner in the immediate area.

If you still think it is suspicious, don’t feel embarrassed or think anyone else will report it.

Then report it to a member of staff for where you are, security or if they are not available call 999.

People are urged to never use their mobile phone in the immediate vicinity of a suspicious package.

Advice from the Home Office is to then to move away to a safe distance, even for a small item such as a briefcase the recommended distance is 100m away, starting from the centre and moving out.

Police urge people that if they think an item is suspicious to speak out and say something.

Fortunately, Monday’s incident was resolved without the package, which is understood to have been found outside the town hall, near its north entrance but people are urged to stay alert.

The police were praised for their speedy reaction to the incident and council procedures also came into play as staff were evacuated in an efficient manner.

The UK’s terror threat level is currently at severe, meaning that an attack is still highly likely.

It was raised to the highest level, critical, in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing but was lowered a few days later.

Staff dealing with a suspicious item are urged to follow the four Cs protocol - confirm, clear, communicate and control.

Staff are first urged to confirm whether it has the signs of being a suspicious package, including whether it has been hidden, does it have wires attached to it and whether it is unattended rather than lost.

After this they are urged to clear the immediate area, taking people to a safe distance of at least 100m away.

Staff should also keep people out of the line of sight of the item and find something to hide behind.

They should then communicate with 999 and a supervisor about what has happened before controlling access to the cordoned area.

Speaking about Monday's incident, council leader, Cllr Cliff Morris, said: “We had to evacuate in order to make sure people were safe. Our staff are now back in.

"These things do happen sometimes, but you have to stay safe - you can’t take any risks. The council’s procedures worked properly here.”