RESIDENTS and shoppers were evacuated while police cordoned off streets after reports of a suspicious package.

Police were called after the package was discovered outside The Bakery, College Road, Hextable, at 12.35pm on Monday.

The road was cordoned off between the junction of Egerton Avenue and Main Road.

The Malyons Road and Rollo Road junctions were also closed off.

Teachers at Hextable Junior School, in near-by Rowhill Road, were told to use alternative routes to allow children to leave the school.

A bomb disposal unit was sent to investigate but the package was found to be harmless and the roads were re-opened at 3.35pm.