PANIC engulfed the streets and offices surrounding The Gherkin on Tuesday when a bomb disposal team carried out a controlled roadside explosion.
Armed City of London Police officers mobilised at around 11.30am after reports of a suspicious vehicle parked up on St Mary Axe.
A bomb disposal robot was deployed to break into the boot of the unattended silver Ford Focus and perform a controlled blast.
Officers later arrested the owner of the vehicle for possession of false identity documents but deemed the vehicle non-suspicious. The lockdown – which cleared local roads but kept staff stuck inside The Gherkin itself – lasted for around an hour-and-a-half, and with streets in the immediate vicinity closed to the public, those affected took to Twitter to try and establish details of the saga.
Well that was an interesting morning being locked inside the gym next to the Gherkin due to a bomb scare. Luckily it was a false alarm but huge respect for the bomb squad handling it so amazingly. Be safe London ❤️
— Danielle Peazer (@DaniellePeazer) November 28, 2017
Fitness blogger Danielle Peazer said: “Well that was an interesting morning being locked inside the gym next to The Gherkin due to a bomb scare.
“Luckily it was a false alarm but huge respect for the bomb squad handling it so amazingly. Be safe London.”
