Suspicious package found in building at Harbour Parade

Police and fire services cordoned off Harbour Parade which was closed from the junction of West Quay Road to the Pirelli Street roundabout after reports that a suspicious package was found in the mail room of Carnival UK.

Police cars, fire engines, ambulances and incident response units were called to the building at 11.14am yesterday.

Officials closed off the Carnival UK carpark and also cordoned off the entrance to the Westquay multi-storey carpark.

It is not yet known what the contents of the package was or where it came from.

One man, who works at the finance department of Carnival UK said: "I went for lunch and came back to this.

"I've been told there is a suspicious package.

"I'm not sure what's going on but people are still having to work."

Another employee added: "A suspicious package was delivered to our mail room.

"No one got evacuated, so I'm guessing we must all be disposable."

Retail worker Joe McCreery was on his way to the Westquay carpark on his motorbike when he was turned around by police.

He said: "It was a huge shock to see all the police and fire engines around.

"I got turned around when I was trying to park my bike and it was quite an inconvenience.

"It is the safest place for me to leave my bike in town and I feel a bit worried leaving it anywhere else.

"I hope what is going on here is not very serous and it will go back to normal for everyone soon."

Harbour Parade has since reopened.

A spokesperson from Hampshire Constabulary said: "We received a report at 11.14am this morning of a suspicious package found at an address on Harbour Parade, Southampton.

"Officers are assisting the fire service and have put closures in place on West Quay Road and Harbour Parade."

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson added: "Our hazardous materials team is working with police to identify the contents of a suspicious package that was discovered on Harbour Parade in Southampton.

“Crews from St Mary’s and our specialist hazardous materials crew from Winchester are at the scene."

A spokesperson from South Central Ambulance Service said: "We got that call at 11:48 and we sent to the scene three ambulance officers and our Hazardous Area Response Team.

"Our SCAS resources worked on scene with partner agencies in response to the situation.

"Thankfully no-one was injured as a result and our Hazardous Area Response Team and ambulance officer have now been stood down from the incident."

The Daily Echo has contacted Carnival UK for a comment but has not yet had a response.

A spokesperson for Westquay said: "An external incident occurred today which meant we had to close our car park for a short period of time.

"The safety and security of our shoppers and staff is paramount and we worked closely with the police to reopen the car park as soon as possible."