A nursery was evacuated, and the bomb squad were called after a suspicious package was found in Sharples.

Police and firefighters were called and a huge cordon was put in place in the Blackburn Road area at around 8am.

It was lifted at around lunchtime.

The cordon was in place on Blackburn Road, close to Sweetloves Lane, Andrew Lane, Holden Avenue, and Thorncliffe Road, preventing traffic from going any further.

The suspicious package was found at the bottom of Sweetloves Lane.

Fire crews, police, and bomb disposal officers were called to the scene.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "Greater Manchester Police were called at around 8am today (Wednesday 22 March 2023) to Sweetloves Lane in Bolton to reports of suspicious items being found."

The spokesman added: "There is believed to be no wider risk to the community."

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) assessed the suspicious items and a 100m cordon was in place "to ensure the safety of the public".

Children at Little Lambs Nursery were evacuated to a nearby school on police advice.

Carly Morrison, owner and manager, of Little Lambs Nursery said: "The police contacted the nursery this morning and advised that a suspicious package had been found and we were asked to evacuate the nursery.

The Bolton News:

"The children were safely taken to High Lawn School where they were kept safe and happy.

"The nursery staff did a tremendous job of keeping the children happy and calm and parents were swiftly contacted to collect their children as we were uncertain how long the nursery would be closed for. 

"All children have been collected and we have been informed that the site is now safe.

“The nursery will remain closed today but will reopen as normal tomorrow."

A resident on Holden Avenue says that she saw the children being taken out of the nursery and praised the staff and police for dealing with the incident ‘quickly’.

She said: “The staff were really calm, and the police were amazing.

The Bolton News:

“I don’t know how they managed to get the kids out so quickly.”

Another resident close by said he saw the nursery children being ‘rushed’ out along with the police who informed his neighbour what was happening.

He said: “I saw the nursery children come out and saw the police.

“Everyone was rushing out quickly.

“They were marched away from the nursery.

“My neighbour spoke to officers who said they should be fine and that there had been a suspicious package.”

The Bolton News:

A spokesperson for Bolton North Police later said: "The suspicious item, which was not an explosive, was made safe by Explosive Ordnance Disposal.

“Officers would like to thank the local community for their co-operation and understanding on this."

It is not clear what the item was, but there is speculation it was some sort of battery, possibly for an electric bike.

Ward councillor, Hilary Fairclough said: "I would really like to thank our police service for their prompt and decisive action this morning when a suspicious package was found at the bottom of Sweetloves Lane.

"I know it caused a lot of disruption to drivers and residents but for safety reasons it was absolutely the right action.

"The road was cleared as soon as possible and everything is back to normal now.

"Thanks Again Greater Manchester Police."

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