Bomb squad detonates mystery liquid found in Eastbourne house

The bomb squad has carried out a controlled explosion of an unidentified liquid found at a house in East Sussex.

Police attended Hyde Road in Eastbourne alongside Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams on Monday evening after the item was found by contractors during a house clearance.

About 160 properties were evacuated earlier to “allow for the safe disposal” of the substance, but residents have now started to return.

Ch Insp Simon Yates said the item had been safely destroyed, no further items had been found and the force was not treating the incident as terror-related.

Properties on Hyde Road, Camden Road, Calverley Road, West Terrace, Bath Road, and parts of Grove Road and York Road were evacuated following the discovery.

An 85 m (279 ft) cordon was put in place by officers, though roads have since reopened.

Officers said the evacuation was completed “safely and effectively during daylight hours” to minimise the impact on local residents.

Ch Insp Yates said: “Public safety will always be our number one priority, and it was important that we took the necessary precautions that we did to ensure the safety of everyone in the vicinity.

“The item has been safely destroyed and disposed of and no further items of concern have been found inside the property.

“We are not treating this as terror-related and it is not believed to be linked to any other incidents in the area.”

He thanked residents and the wider community for their “patience and understanding”.

Helen Bailey-Foster, who lives nearby with her pregnant daughter, told BBC Radio Sussex the situation was “a bit nerve-wracking”.

After her road was cordoned off last night, she said she was not aware of what was happening until looking at Facebook.

“We were none the wiser,” she continued. “Nobody said anything.”

“All sorts of things start going through your brain.”

Eastbourne Borough Council said it had opened a rest centre accommodation at the Town Hall in Grove Road for affected residents.

Raj Kasippillai, who owns Boss Man Booze, said the closure of Grove Road on Monday evening had hit his business financially.

“No customers were coming,” he told BBC Radio Sussex. “I lost so much money.”

Sussex Police’s Det Supt Jon Robeson said a number of uniformed officers were present on Tuesday morning to assist with the evacuation and offer further advice.

He said public safety was a “priority” for the force as it dealt with the incident.

The Eastbourne Open tennis tournament continued as planned in Devonshire Park despite the nearby evacuation.

The incident came after 80 homes were evacuated in St Leonards in March, after more than 500 canisters of chemicals were found inside a building.