A SUSPICIOUS package delivered to Witney Job Centre yesterday turned out to be full of paperwork.
Police cordoned off the building at the Two Rivers industrial estate for two hours yesterday morning after the parcel was posted through the letterbox.
Centre manager Anneli Morgan said staff were worried because the package was not addressed to anyone, the writing on it was scruffy and it was well-padded.
The building was evacuated before the package was found to contain paperwork posted by a jobseeker.
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Ms Morgan said they were initially concerned that the package contained explosive liquids.
She said: “It was gels and liquids that we thought could have been a risk. We evacuated the building and called the police. Luckily it was a false alarm.”
She added: “It was a good practice run.”
More than 20 staff work at the Job Centre Plus building.
James Condon, a worker at Abby Tyres opposite the centre, said a white van turned up and men wearing masks went into the building with a sniffer dog.
Mick Partlett, of Mick Partlett Car Sales on the estate, said: “They cordoned the whole road off so we couldn’t go in or out.
“We’ve been here some time and have never seen all this happen before.”
Police spokeswoman Hannah Williams said officers were called at 9.20am and “the package was subsequently found to be non-suspicious.”
An MoD spokesman said the bomb squad were not called to the incident.
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