Police have vowed to catch those responsible for the bomb hoax inside a Watford pub last night (Thursday), describing it as an “unbelievably mindless act”.

Officers raced to The Flag, in Station Road, following the discovery of a suspicious package found inside the men's toilet at about 6pm.

The area was evacuated and road closures put in place, before the Royal Logistics Corps bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion of the device.

Nearby Watford Junction station was also cleared and trains were stopped for about 20 minutes.

The area remained cordoned off until police were satisfied the package was not a bomb.

DCI Shirley Sargent said: “This was an unbelievably mindless act which caused a huge amount of disruption to residents, people enjoying a night out in the city centre and commuters. The incident was dealt with extremely effectively and I would like to thank everyone for their patience.

“Initial indications were that the package may pose a threat, thankfully this was not the case. Safety of members of the public was paramount and a large number of 999 responders were sent to the scene. Those responsible have wasted the extremely valuable time of all the services involved and I would like to make it clear that we are committed to tracing those responsible and ensuring they are dealt with in the courts.

“Investigations to establish the reason why this suspicious package was left at this location are ongoing but I would like to reassure people that at this stage we believe the intent of leaving the package was to cause disruption rather than harm.”

Anyone with information should telephone Hertfordshire Police on 0845 3300222 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.