Updated: This is why police evacuated hotels and closed roads in Scarborough

Police evacuated guests from a large North Yorkshire hotel and cordoned off surrounding streets following a bomb threat.

All the emergency services were scrambled to the Grand Hotel in Scarborough after it was called by someone claiming to have left a bomb in the building at 10.15am this morning.

This is now known to be a hoax.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Emergency services attended the area and evacuated the building and erected cordon as a precautionary measure.

“Specialist teams conducted thorough checks of the building and surrounding area and have found no evidence of any threat to public safety.

“Access to the building has now been authorised, staff and guests have been allowed to return and the cordon has been removed.

“The safety of everyone in the area and the emergency services who attended is our priority and we thank the staff, guests of the hotel and members of the public for their patience while we worked to establish the circumstances around the incident.”

For several hours the area surrounding the hotel, including St Nicholas Cliff and the Spa Bridge, was cordoned off, and the public were told to avoid the area.