A man has been arrested by police involved in the major operation at York College last night.
The college was evacuated, as was the nearby Tesco supermarket, in an incident which saw roads closed and the involvement of all the emergency services.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Last night, police officers carried out an extensive search of the college and the immediate area around it.
“This search involved the use of specialist resources which included detection dogs and a police helicopter.
“Officers were satisfied there was no risk to the college or wider public and the cordon was lifted shortly after 9.30pm.
“A 21-year-old man has been arrested today on suspicion of making hoax bomb threats. He currently remains in police custody for questioning.”
Police made it clear that this had nothing to do with the counter-terrorism exercise which had taken place at York Racecourse earlier in the afternoon.
Officers will be at the college tomorrow (Friday) “to provide reassurance to students and staff”.
York College remained closed today. A spokesperson for the college said: “Having worked closely with the emergency services, we can confirm that the incident concluded late last night, and the building was cleared for safe occupation.
“After a thorough search, no items of concern have been found. Any information circulating to the contrary, is untrue, both in respect of this, and any other locations.
“Our incident response arrangements kicked in swiftly, and we worked with the relevant emergency services to resolve the matter quickly and efficiently.
“Whilst the incident was ongoing, we elected to close our campus today (Thursday 16 March) as a precautionary measure but are pleased to confirm that we will be open as usual tomorrow.
“We will continue to support the North Yorkshire Police with their full investigation and wish to thank them and all emergency services for their swift response.
“Special thanks to all contributed to the safe management of this incident.”
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