Talc in package addressed in Arabic to Stansted hotel sparke

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Talc in package addressed in Arabic to Stansted hotel sparked Stortford post office alert

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A JIFFY bag containing talcum powder was at the centre of the ‘suspicious package’ alert at Bishop’s Stortford post office this morning (Wednesday, October 2).

The item of mail was addressed in Arabic lettering to a hotel at Stansted Airport, according to a source at the Royal Mail premises in South Street.

Hertfordshire police received a call at 7.45am following the package’s discovery in the sorting office.

Officers closed off South Street from Station Road to Southmill Road, not because of any danger to passing traffic but to give emergency vehicles priority access if needed.

They cordoned off the post office with tape but pedestrians were allowed to pass.

However, at around 11am, following the arrival of Hertfordshire Constabulary’s specialist chemical team, based in Hitchin, the package was found to pose no threat.

Four police cars were at the scene. A Herts Fire and Rescue Service crew arrived at 9.54am. An ambulance and a rapid response vehicle from the East of England Ambulance Service were also on standby.

It was business as usual for neighbouring companies: police allowed a hearse to leave funeral director Daniel Robinson & Sons opposite the post office and patients were coming and going at the South Street doctors’ surgery.