Breaking: Regent Street sees controlled explosion and evacuation after ‘bomb threat’

There has been an evacuation and controlled explosion on London’s Regent Street following a “bomb threat”.

Shoppers, along with residents and workers, were asked to leave the area at 1pm after a car was abandoned near Hamley’s.

Several controlled explosions also took place in the area.

According to Metro, a black Audi A4 with broken windows and a crumpled boot was taped off on nearby New Burlington Street.

Witnesses spoke to the press about the incident. Abdul, who works at Church’s on Regent Street told Metro: “There was one very, very loud explosion. The ground was literally shaking.

“People were running back, then there were two smaller explosions.”

Another witness, Angus Hamill, said police ran over asking everyone to evacuate.

Footage on social media shows a swarm of people running away from the area and towards the camera person, who can be heard asking: “What’s going on? Why is everyone running?”, to which another man replied: “I don’t know. Someone just started screaming, and then a load of people started running this way.”

@dboy19988 Bomb threat on Regent St, London earlier today. #fy #fyp #london #regentst #regentstreet ♬ original sound – dboy19988

The cordoned off area was extended by police to cover Savile Row, Conduit Street, Beak Street and Burlington Street. However, by 2:45pm, stores including Hamley’s were able to reopen their doors.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Road closures are in place in the vicinity of Regent Street and New Burlington Street while officers investigate a suspicious vehicle.

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“Officers have carried out a number of controlled explosions as a precautionary measure.”

In a later update, the police added: “This incident has now been fully stood down. The vehicle was found to be non-suspicious.”

Featured image via TikTok