http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1525512,00.htmlPolice evacuated tens of thousands of people from central Birmingham last night and carried out a controlled explosion on a bus.
The fresh security alert, two days after the bomb attacks on London, saw Birmingham's entertainment district sealed off and about 20,000 people rapidly moved out. Restaurants and bars were cleared, roads were blocked off, extra police and ambulances sped to the scene and a helicopter hovered above.
A bomb disposal unit carried out four controlled explosions on the bus in Corporation Street after a call from a member of the public, although officers now believe the object destroyed had not posed a threat. No explosive devices were found and no arrests made.
Stuart Hyde, the Assistant Chief Constable of the West Midlands, said the Broad Street entertainment district and the city's Chinese quarter were cleared after an intelligence warning of a 'substantial threat' to these areas. But he denied there was a link with the London explosions.
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