A midnight knock at the door had Sheddocksley residents fleeing their homes due to a bomb scare in the neighbourhood.
On Sunday night, a mass evacuation occurred with hundreds of residents advised to leave their homes by police.
Within the 330 ft evacuation zone were Bressay Brae, Fara Close, Cava Close, Samphrey Road and Eday Court.
While some made arrangements with family, others headed to the nearby Tesco to wait in their cars, enduring a sleepless night.
The Sheddocksley Community Centre opened during the night for people to take shelter.
Sheddocksley bomb scare as it happened
- 12.00am: Police start knocking residents doors telling people to evacuate properties.
- 12.15 Residents begin to flee the area with many going to the Tesco car park.
- 3.30: Sheddocksley community centre opens for people to take shelter.
- 3.45: Bomb disposal robot arrives on the scene.
- 4.15: – 4.30: A bomb disposal expert arrives on the scene.
- 5.00: Bomb disposal robot leaves Bressay Brae.
- 5.30: Residents were allowed to return home.
Bomb scare sparked multi-agency operation in Sheddocksley
A bomb squad were dispatched from Edinburgh to come and oversee the disposal of the “suspected bomb”.
Footage from a remote-controlled camera, obtained by The Press and Journal, shows a bomb disposal robot entering the area close to the suspected object.
The small remote-controlled robot enters along with bomb disposal expert in the video.
Sheddocksley residents exhausted
Speaking to The P&J, exhausted residents spoke about their ordeal, which has had a knock-on effect on their days.
Jozef Andre, who lives on Bressay Brae, was about to go to bed when he heard a knock at the door.
He said: “The police knocked on our door around midnight, and we were told a bomb squad was coming up from Edinburgh. I was told myself, my partner and our two dogs would have to evacuate.“
They headed to his in-laws’ until it was safe to return at around 5.30am.
Mr Andre asked the police if the device found was a bomb, but they wouldn’t disclose that information.
Describing the night, Mr Andre said: “The whole experience was surreal, I only managed a few hours of sleep and now today is basically lost.”
He was impressed with how the police handled the situation, adding: “The emergency services were very professional. They were calm throughout.”
Resident lost out on work due to sleepless night
A few doors down from Mr Andre, Mihai Babuciu described how his wife lost hundreds of pounds by missing work today.
He said: “She was supposed to leave to deliver parcels to Inverness this morning, but with only four hours of sleep, it’s too dangerous to drive.”
After leaving the house at midnight, later returning only to be asked to leave again, the disruption was too much for any proper rest.
Mr Mabuciu added: “We are very tired and have lost a lot of money.”
One resident living on Fara Close said she stayed in her home to take care of her cats.
She said: “Police knocked on my door around midnight and said there was a ‘suspicious object’ in the area.
“I decided to stay because I have three cats and didn’t want to leave them. I didn’t hear a lot of noise during the night but saw police looking in gardens with torches.”
‘Suspicious object’ was fishing equipment
The woman had lived in the neighbourhood for nearly 40 years and said she “hadn’t seen anything like it before”, but felt safe knowing police were investigating.
Another resident was forced to book a hotel to stay in as she didn’t want to bother her family at such a late hour.
Leigh-Ann Smith had to get her five children together as she was, informed that the family had to evacuate.
She said: “The kids were already asleep, and I told the officer getting them all up was hard enough on a normal day.
One of Ms Smith’s children managed to stay at her friend’s, getting some sleep before heading to work.
The others, of school age, managed a few hours of sleep at their grandmother’s house.
Police confirmed the suspicious object believed to be a bomb was in fact fishing equipment.
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