Man arrested after anonymous 'bomb threat' phone call forced police to evacuate Telford shopping centre

The phone call making a "serious threat" to the Telford Centre was received on Friday afternoon at around 2pm and led to hundreds of shoppers and workers being evacuated.

After an extensive search, West Mercia Police said they found "nothing suspicious".

On Saturday, the force announced they had arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of communicating false information. He remains in police custody and the investigation continues.

Superintendent Edward Hancox, said: “As most people are aware, yesterday afternoon we received a bomb threat which was made anonymously to Telford Shopping Centre, which led to a swift evacuation of the centre.

“Officers carried out extensive searches to establish if the threat was genuine and I understand the bomb threat and police action caused concern and disruption to those visiting Telford Shopping Centre.

“It was vitally important we took steps to ensure the threat was not genuine and that there was no risk to public safety. Thankfully, our searches established that there was no threat, and the Balloon Fiesta taking place nearby at Telford Town Park was able to go ahead as planned later that evening.

“An investigation is now underway to understand the nature of the call, and a man has been arrested in connection with the incident.

“I would like to recognise and thank the public for their understanding and co-operation yesterday, which allowed us to quickly and safely evacuate the shopping centre so that we could carry out our searches. The support we received from our local communities in person and on social media has been incredibly important, and never something we would take for granted.

“I would also like to thank our colleagues from other emergency services, Telford & Wrekin Council and Telford Shopping Centre for their co-operation and working with us to ensure the public were kept safe."