Thursday, July 28, 2005
Bomb scares in London 'burbs
Last Saturday I was having a quiet drink in the pub for a friend's birthday when suddenly blue and white "Police Line - do not cross" tape started appearing everywhere.
It was a bomb scare. The Police guarding the area didn't know what was going on except that the area was a no go.
All in all there must have been about 50+ Police, a bomb squad unit and 3 fire engines. The bomb squad had a truck with what looked like a sealed rear section with a periscope coming out the top.
They suddenly announced that the streets had to be cleared and we were locked in the pub, unfortunately no free drinks which was disappointing.
They then proceeded to unroll a large drum of wire and connect it to what looked like a tube on a car jack (a detonator?), but quite quickly rolled it back in and declared the area safe.
Today (Thurs) it seems there was a large Police presence on the underground and even sleepy Belsize Park had two stationed there all day (Kentish Town seemed to have at least 3 or 4).
It was a bomb scare. The Police guarding the area didn't know what was going on except that the area was a no go.
All in all there must have been about 50+ Police, a bomb squad unit and 3 fire engines. The bomb squad had a truck with what looked like a sealed rear section with a periscope coming out the top.
They suddenly announced that the streets had to be cleared and we were locked in the pub, unfortunately no free drinks which was disappointing.
They then proceeded to unroll a large drum of wire and connect it to what looked like a tube on a car jack (a detonator?), but quite quickly rolled it back in and declared the area safe.
Today (Thurs) it seems there was a large Police presence on the underground and even sleepy Belsize Park had two stationed there all day (Kentish Town seemed to have at least 3 or 4).
