GLASGOW city centre was brought to a standstill
today after a suspect package was found in a busy restaurant.
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GLASGOW city centre was brought to a standstill today after a suspect package was found in a busy restaurant.
Traffic ground to a halt and shops and offices were evacuated as police cordoned off an large area around Pizza Hut, on the corner of Sauchiehall Street and Renfield Street.
Diners were evacuated and the premises sealed off as the Royal Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team rushed to the site.
Fire trucks waited nearby and hundreds of people gathered to watch as police taped off the pedestrian area from West Nile Street to Hope Street.
Streets were gridlocked, with cars and buses diverted from Renfield Street.
Buses stuck in the one way system on Renfrew Street were abandoned at the side of the road.
Police said the alarm was raised by the restaurant manager around 11.45am.
A spokeswoman said: "As a precaution the premises was evacuated and the area cordoned off."
As the streets were sealed off traffic almost ground to a halt.
Police redirected vehicles down Bath and West Nile streets but some buses were abandoned at the side of the road, including the 55 to Braehead and the 41 to Easterhouse, It was expected to take hours for the gridlock to ease, with police directing traffic at major junctions.
Shop staff out on their lunch breaks were left stranded behind the cordon and unable to return to work.
One worker said: "I popped up to Marks and Spencer for a sandwich, now I am stuck here.
"The atmosphere is good.
I don't think anyone seems to be annoyed at having their day disrupted.
"I hope it is a false alarm and not anything more sinister."
Some passengers stuck in buses gave up hope of reaching their destination and got off the vehicle.
Liz Thomas was on her way to meet friends at Braehead Shopping Centre.
She said: "I was on a bus that got stuck. I have not seen anything like it in a while, the traffic is backed up so far.
"I am not really sure where to go now to get a different bus, but I felt that sorry for the driver. At least I can walk away. Who knows how long he will be left sitting there?"
Frank Thomas, 36, said: "I was on my way to the bank when the policed showed up. All the customers were coming out of Pizza Hut and shoppers were being moved away, but no one would say why we had to move.
"It is strange to see all the cars stopped and the emergency services out."
Sarah Pierce, 53, from Newton Mearns, saw the bomb disposal team arrive.
She said: "I saw the police come and put the warning tape up across Renfield Street. Then the bomb squad came. It looked very dramatic.
"It looks like a madhouse here with all the traffic stopped and the police out, but I suppose after the Glasgow Airport attack you just can't be too careful."
A spokesman for the Bank of Scotland confirmed the police had requested it close the Sauchiehall Street branch, which is opposite Pizza Hut.
He said: "We have been asked to temporarily close our branch while a suspicious package at a neighbouring shop is investigated.
"We have not been evacuated and have been advised this will take an hour and half."
