Homes and businesses evacuated as 'grenade' found in car with army bomb disposal unit rushing to the scene
Emergency services are in attendance at Strand Road, Bootle
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A possible grenade has been discovered in the boot of a car, with nearby homes and businesses evacuated.
At around 1.10pm, police received a report of a possible explosive device in Strand Road, Bootle in Merseyside.
Merseyside Police confirmed a cordon was in place and several homes and businesses had been evacuated as a precaution.
There are also several bus diversions in place due to the ongoing incident. These include Arriva's 47, 52, 52A, 53, 54, 55, 62 and 300 service.
Police remain in attendance at the sceneA spokesperson from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: "Fire crews are currently supporting Merseyside Police at an incident on Strand Road, Bootle, with two fire engines in attendance.
"Crews were alerted at 1.36pm and on scene at 1.45pm. Fire crews are liaising with police colleagues at an outer cordon- the incident is ongoing."
A spokesperson from Merseyside Police said: "We can confirm that emergency services are currently in Bootle attending to an incident this afternoon, Monday, November 4. At around 1.10pm, we received a report of a possible grenade inside the boot of a car on Strand Road.
"A cordon is in place and several homes and businesses have been evacuated as a precaution. There are also multiple road closures in place, so please avoid the area while emergency services deal with the incident."
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One resident, who lives opposite the cordon, told Liverpool Echo: "I heard they found a grenade in the boot of someone’s car.
"There is a massive square car park round the back of the Beaconsfield and they’ve found it in there...It’s quite scary, imagine if it went off, it can happen."
"There are also multiple road closures in place, so please avoid the area while emergency services deal with the incident."
An eyewitness reports an officer from the army disposal squad has changed into a "bomb suit" at the scene.
Today's incident comes after the discovery of two unexploded bombs found nearby. An unexploded World War Two bomb was discovered at a site on North Atlantic Avenue on Tuesday, October 22, with another device discovered on the same street on Thursday, October 24.
The first device found was taken to Ainsdale Beach in Southport, where it was detonated by the Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal team (EOD).
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