Bomb squad descend on street after 'item found in canal'

A bomb squad descended on a Tameside street amid reports of an 'item' being found in a canal.

Pottinger Street, in Ashton-under-Lyne, was taped off following the discovery at about 12pm today (Sunday). Images showed a large emergency service response, including police and firefighters, on the residential street, which is off Stockport Road.

Bomb disposal experts were also called to the scene, near to the Ashton Canal. They assessed the item and deemed it to be 'a non-suspicious piece of metal', Greater Manchester Police said.

READ MORE: George Galloway blasted for 'vile conspiracy theories' about Kate Middleton

The cordon has since been lifted and emergency services have left the scene.

A spokesperson for the force said: "At around 12pm today, officers were called by members of the public to reports of an item in the canal just off Pottinger Street, Ashton-Under-Lyne.

"Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) attended and assessed the item as a non-suspicious piece of metal. A precautionary cordon put in place has been lifted."

Follow our live blog below for the latest updates on the incident as we get them.

One man who lives on Pottinnger Street said he was "woken up by the sirens" earlier this afternoon.

"I looked out and there were police cars everywhere," he added. “When I saw the army guy, I thought ‘what the hell is going on here?’

“You normally get kids going into the canal when they’re trying to escape from the police so I initially thought it must be something like but when I saw the bomb disposal, I was a bit worried, I must say.

“I did find it weird that they taped right up to my house but they didn’t knock on my door to say ‘there might be a bomb you want to go in your back garden’ or anything like that.”

The