Parents' anxiety amid search for 'guns and grenades' at kids' park

Parents have described their fear and concern after police acting on a tip-off cordoned off a park in Salford popular with children in a search for 'guns and grenades'.

On Friday, a large section of Duchy Road playing fields was cordoned off and some residents were urged to consider leaving their homes as police and army bomb disposal experts began a search for 'firearms and grenades'.

Residents described how the search came to an end on Saturday morning and later Greater Manchester Police confirmed the search had been 'stood down' as no weapons were found.

Today (Saturday) parents who live beside the playing fields said they were relieved but also expressed their concerns at the prospect weapons had been dumped in the park.

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One mother, who asked not to be named, told the Manchester Evening News: "There were loads of rumours flying around at first, that it was a man hanging around the park, that someone had been stabbed and that there were bombs and weapons in the park.

"My daughter is 15 and she walks by there on the way home from school and that was my big worry. We weren't being told what was going on at first, it was just speculation. The police didn't say anything to us.

"The bomb squad was still here this morning with metal detectors, going over the grass."

Another resident said: "Nobody was allowed to go on one side of the park. It's popular with kids and people who walk their dogs."

"I've got kids. I don't think it's safe," someone else said.

"I came home around 5am on Friday and the police had all the entrances to the park closed off. We could see they were still searching this morning, a team of them all in black. There