Two people and a suspicious object sparked a major emergency services operation in and around York College tonight, YorkMix has learned.
It began when they were challenged on the college campus off Tadcaster Road in the afternoon.
They didn’t have the right passes. On being challenged they immediately left.
It is not clear where they went. And a suspicious object was also seen on campus.
Police were then called to the college. As their investigation developed, they became interested in an apparently abandoned car in the car park at Tesco.
Both York College and the Tesco supermarket were evacuated and the whole area cordoned off.
It was later established that the car posed no threat.
There was an extensive search of the college and the college grounds. It’s thought that nothing suspicious has been found at this stage.
YorkMix understands that the two people who were challenged have not yet been tracked down and the search to identify them is ongoing.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Police were contacted at 4.10pm today (Wednesday 15 March) by York College who had been alerted to a possible suspicious object on their campus.
“Officers attended and assisted college staff in evacuating the building.
“Tadcaster Road was closed and a cordon was put in place to ensure the safety of members of the public.
“A search of the campus was completed and nothing was found.
“Tadcaster Road was open at 7.15pm and the cordon on the college campus was lifted at 9.38pm.”
An investigation is underway to establish the full circumstances of the incident.
The incident saw dozens of emergency service vehicles mobilised to the area, including police, fire and ambulance crews and the police helicopter.
Shortly before 9pm, York College released this statement: “We are working with the relevant emergency services in connection with the ongoing incident.
“We have decided to remain closed to students tomorrow (Thursday 15 March).
“We expect to be open as usual on Friday 16 March. In the meantime, students and staff are encouraged to regularly monitor their emails.”
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