‘Wonderful’ to be back home, say evacuated Derby residents

Residents who were evacuated from their properties after police declared a major incident in Derby have said it is “wonderful” to be allowed back in their homes.

About 200 properties were evacuated on Thursday in the Vulcan Street area, after Derbyshire Police arrested two men, one in his 40s and one in his 50s, on suspicion of explosives offences.

Officers carried out a warrant in Vulcan Street following intelligence about materials at a house there and arrested the men, who remain in custody.

John Morley, 86, was told at about 20:00 GMT on Friday that he could return to his home in the evacuation zone, which he said was “wonderful”, and added “you can’t beat living in your own house”.

Mr Morley said he stayed overnight with his daughter in Allestree from Thursday to Friday, then was put up in a hotel on Friday night, before Derby City Council arranged for a taxi to take him home.

He told the BBC he was about to put his feet up for a sleep at about 13:30 when a police officer knocked on his door, telling him he needed to evacuate his home.

Mr Morley said: “At the time we knew it must be serious for us to evacuate at all.

“It’s times like that people do pull together.”

Charlotte Woodins, 19, also lives in the evacuation zone with her partner Josh Dean, and stayed with family while the major incident was in place.

She said: “We were just about to go out and then a police officer came to my car and said ‘when you go out you won’t be allowed to come back’.

“I would say we’re happy to be home.

“It’s still a bit nerve-wracking. Obviously with everything that’s happening and the police presence around the area is a bit alarming, but we’re glad to be back in our house.”

The force said it was not being treated as a terrorism incident and that there was “no wider risk to the community”.

Police said a controlled explosion was carried out at about 16:00 on Thursday, while the evacuation zone was active, which included several roads close to Vulcan Street.

The Pakistan Community Centre remains open as a contact point for anyone in the area, while The Singh Sabha Gurdwara, in Princes Street, is available as a new contact point for residents from Saturday.

Supt Becky Webster said: “Thank you to everyone that has been evacuated from their homes, we realise that this has been inconvenient and we appreciate people’s patience and cooperation.”

The two men who have been arrested are Polish nationals, Derbyshire Police has said.

A police spokesperson told the BBC it had released this information in line with national guidance around forces being encouraged to disclose the ethnicity and nationality of suspects to combat misinformation.