Shops were evacuated and a road was closed in Borehamwood town centre on Monday after a suspicious package was spotted in Woolworths.

Police cordoned off a 100m stretch of Shenley Road and diverted traffic after an unattended bag was noticed in the shop at around 12.17pm.

Army bomb disposal experts were called to the scene and, using specialist equipment, they were able to check the contents of the sports bag.

A police spokesperson said: "It appears that the bag was left by a shoplifter who wanted to dump their stolen goods."

The road outside Woolworths, in both directions, was blocked by police until the package was declared safe, at around 1pm.

October 15, 2001 16:17