Major Incident at Sainsbury's Chiswick

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Police say the item which sparked closure was not a suspicious device

Police say the package which caused the area around Sainsbury's store to be cordoned off on Thursday ( 22nd March) was not a suspicious device.

The area around the large car-park was sealed off after reports of what police described as "an item causing concern" with police, fire and ambulance services quickly on the scene.

The surrounding area, including the Chiswick Park tube station and shops on Acton Lane were advised to close and the road itself was blocked off for a time.

One witness said police cordoned off the road from Chiswick Park tube station to the High Road and told people to stay inside. Shoppers in the supermarket who had parked their cars near the suspicious area by the recycling bins, were unable to retrieve them.

There was heavy traffic in the area and the road closure added to the congestion.

A specialist unit then arrived to investigate the suspect package. The witness said the atmosphere was calm and the incident was handled quickly and efficiently.

" People just went off to local cafes and had a coffee while they were waiting to get back into the area or collect their cars" she commented.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

A police spokesman said they were called at around 9.20am after two reports of an item causing concern. Officers attended and the item was declared non-suspicious and the roads reopened within an hour.

March 23, 2012