Bomb scare parcel is...box of 10p coins!

A MOTORIST who paid a £30 fixed penalty notice entirely with ten pence pieces unwittingly caused a bomb scare in Ipswich town centre today.

The Central Ticket Office in Museum Street was evacuated when the suspicious package arrived in the post.

Workers, who are used to dealing with cheques and postal orders, raised the alarm shortly before 9am when the heavy item was delivered.

Police immediately closed the road and evacuated the building, while Ipswich Buses was warned that services could not travel along Museum Street.

But when the Bomb Disposal Squad, who had been despatched from Colchester, examined the package and used x-ray technology to reveal its contents, the full story emerged.

It appears that instead of paying through the traditional methods, a motorist had carefully packaged £30 worth of ten pence coins in a parcel before paying the £7 postage fee and sending it off.

A bomb squad spokesman said that as soon as the contents were revealed, the road was reopened and the office workers were allowed to return to work.

A police spokesman confirmed: “Museum Street was closed after a suspicious package was received at an office.

“The bomb squad were called and they were able to confirm it was not a sinister package.”

Did you send the package? Call The Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324840 or e-mail starnews@eveningstar.co.uk