Man arrested for false communication after 'suspicious packages' incident at pub in Bristol

The man made a call to the police on Sunday afternoon (October 9) Credit: ITV West Country

A man has been arrested after police received a call from someone yesterday (Sunday 9) claiming to have left a 'suspicious package' at a pub in Bristol.

Emergency services were called to the Three Lions pub in West Street, Bedminster, at around 12.40pm on Sunday afternoon.

People were evacuated from the pub and from nearby buildings as specialist teams carried out a search.

Police completed those searches at around 9.15pm and confirmed no suspicious items were found.

A man was arrested on suspicion of communicating false information in relation to an explosive device.

The area around the Three Lions Pub had to be evacuated. Credit: ITV West Country

Inspector Richard Lang said: “We’d like to thank the public for their patience and understanding. We appreciate there will have been significant concern given the nature of the initial report to police – one that had to be taken seriously.

“We would like to reassure people there have been no items found that pose a risk to the public following searches by specialist teams. As such the cordon is in the process of being lifted.

“One man has been arrested in connection with this incident on suspicion of a false communication offence and he has been taken into custody.

“Additional reassurance patrols are due to be carried out in the area over the coming days and would advise anyone with ongoing concerns about this incident speaks to those officers.”

Avon and Somerset Police are not treating this incident as terrorism-related.