A 50-year-old man has been arrested under suspicion of calling in a hoax bomb threat near Sheffield Cathedral.

At 1.10 PM today, calls were made to South Yorkshire police regarding suspicious packages in the area near Sheffield Cathedral.

Police who attended the scene identified two packages and after investigation, they both seemed to contain harmless items.

The first was a suitcase found to be containing paint and the second a rucksack only containing blankets.

Nigel McEaneny, who was on his way to work at the time, said: “Town was in absolute chaos. There were so many police officers and all around the cathedral was sectioned off.

“I asked someone what was going on and they said it was about a suspicious package.”

Officers cordoned off the area surrounding the threat which caused minor delays to tram and bus services along Church Street. However, all services and roads have now reopened. 

Although a man has been arrested on suspicion of making the hoax bomb threat, Police are continuing their enquiries.