Bomb disposal team called to defuse laminate shelving

A town centre was cordoned off for four hours after a bomb squad was called to a chemists to dispose of a "suspicious package", which turned out to be laminate shelves. Police enforced a 100-metre cordon in Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey after bosses at the Sunset pharmacy called 999 when an 'unexpected delivery' turned up in a wooden crate.



Police called in the bomb squad after being alerted at 11.30am and a Royal Logistics Corp Bomb Disposal Team travelled 23 miles from Aldershot to examine the package. A controlled explosion was carried out on the box at 2.30pm, when officers found that the box contained laminate shelves, and the town centre was reopened by 3.30pm.

Inspector Jaqui Drew, of Surrey Police, said: "We were called to Sunset pharmacy after they had received a parcel that hadn't been anticipated. It was a sealed wooden box secured shut. They weren't able to account for its origin. We dealt with it as suspicious and sought advice from an army explosive team that came down from Aldershot.



"As a result of them being unsure they carried out a controlled explosion that blew the box open. It was found to be some product used in DIY – laminate shelving covers. There was nothing of any concern." Many locals were bewildered by the actions of police following the incident. Ian Fletcher, 51, said: "If everyone called the police when they got a delivery of something they weren't expecting the police would never do anything else than open up boxes."