A FORCED evacuation at Manchester Airport appears to have been caused by a naked man running around the transport interchange.

Officers were called to the airport this morning at around 7pm over reports of a man "behaving erratically" at the adjacent train station.

Once they arrived a suspicion bag was spotted and bomb disposal officers were called in to destroy it through a controlled explosion. It was later confirmed that the bag did not contain a viable explosive device.

The man was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital for an assessment.

Police moved to dispel concerns by stressing that the incident was not related to terrorism.

Chief Inspector Andy Sutcliffe, of GMP’s Manchester Airport team, said: "I want to stress that there is no evidence to suggest that this incident was terrorism related and I want to thank members of the public for their patience and support as we responded.”

He added: "I appreciate that reports of today’s incident may have caused some concern but I can confirm that the matter has now been safely resolved and the area is returning to normal.

“Public safety is our top priority so a controlled explosion of a bag was carried out as a precaution before an inspection of the contents confirmed that there was no viable device or components inside."

A cordon was in place at the airport transport interchange after police were called and people were shepherded away from the building.

Trams, trains and buses were suspended to and from the airport interchange.

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The majority of road closures that were put in place as enquiries were carried out by officers at Manchester Airport transport interchange were lifted by 10.40am.

Traffic is returning to normal but a small scene remains in place in the ground floor area of the coach station as officers continue with enquiries.