Altofts residents evacuated after ‘suspicious device’ find

Residents were evacuated from their homes in part of Wakefield after police discovered a “potentially suspicious device” at a property.

West Yorkshire Police said officers were carrying out investigations at a home on Agincourt Drive, Altofts, near Normanton, on Thursday when they found the device during a search.

A cordon had been put in place around the property and people living in nearby households had been asked to leave their homes “purely as a precaution”, a force spokesperson said.

Officers on the scene were assessing the device, they added.

In footage from the scene, an Army bomb disposal unit truck and several Army officers could be seen on the street.

Meanwhile, the road was shown to be cordoned off with blue and white police tape and a large number of police officers were also visible, as well as several ambulances.

Other images showed people gathered near the scene by the police cordon.