STAFF were evacuated from the Royal Mail sorting office in Farnworth today amid fears a letter bomb had been discovered.
Police were called to the depot in Stone Hill Road just after 12.30am after staff alerted them about the suspicious A4 sized package.
Chief Inspector Charlie Bradshaw confirmed the package, which is thought not to have been addressed, had been removed by officers for examination by experts.
He added: "Lettering on the package alerted staff to possible danger and we were called out immediately.
"It's standard practice for us to remove the package and take it out of the postal system. There's no great danger with handling these devices.
"They travel through the postal system and and won't go off provided they're not opened. Normally they're relatively safe to handle."
Special branch officers are due to examine the package later today. The parcel will be X-rayed to establish if there is any device inside it.
Royal Mail staff were allowed back into the sorting office on the Express Trading Estate after the package had been taken away, shortly after 1.30am.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article