Photos: Bomb Disposal Unit on St. Giles

The bomb disposal unit are investigating a ‘package’

| UPDATED

St. Giles is closed this afternoon because of a suspicious package sent to the Oxford Armed Forces Recruitment Office. Police have taped off most of the main artery into the city centre citing a ‘potentially major incident.’

St. Giles at Midday

The cordon, running from 41 St.Giles up to Little Clarendon Street, is in place following similar alerts at offices in Chatham and Reading.  Police are manning the area with ‘military support,’ which The Tab understands to be Oxford’s bomb disposal unit.

Staff at Taylor’s have been evacuated and a bomb disposal robot has been set up and sent in to check it out.

It is likely the closure will remain for the immediate future, with one officer going on record to say ‘the cordon is in place to protect the public and will remain until the threat is dealt with.  Anyone needing to pass through this area should find an alternative route.’

This is not the first time the bomb squad have been in action in Oxford, having investigated a suspicious package in Trinity Term of last year.

This is one of a number of suspicious packages sent to the Army careers offices in the the last few days. Canterbury, Brighton, Aldershot, Chatham, Slough and Reading have all been targeted.

People have been reacting both in real life and on Twitter – here’s a selection of the latter:

https://twitter.com/TomGoulding/status/433948134889123841