The Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that the 'suspect device' found inside Old Trafford this afternoon 'was not viable'.
Old Trafford was evacuated on Sunday afternoon when security uncovered a 'suspect package' in the build-up to Manchester United's Premier League clash with Bournemouth, which was abandoned on security grounds.
"A controlled explosion" took place little before 5pm in Manchester, but developing reports on Twitter claimed that the mobile phone was 'a hoax' rather than a deadly device.
That has now been confirmed by the authorities, who have described the mobile phone attached to a gas pipe as an "incredible lifelike explosive device", but not one that could have caused casualties.
Bomb disposal experts carried out controlled explosion at Old Trafford on what is described as incredibly lifelike explosive device...
— G M Police (@gmpolice) May 15, 2016
Full assessment now concluded and found device wasn't viable. A full search of the stadium is ongoing. Full update to follow.
— G M Police (@gmpolice) May 15, 2016
It is currently unclear when the rescheduled Premier League match will take place.
Matt Law
