PRESS ASSOCIATION -- A police investigation has been launched after a fake explosive device was discovered in a historic city centre and a "suspicious" fire was started in a nearby high street store.
Trains were stopped in Canterbury, Kent, and a number of roads closed after a member of the public reported a suspect package on a stretch of line near Old Dover Road just after 4.20pm on Friday.
Army bomb disposal experts were called to the scene but examinations revealed the package was an "elaborate hoax", Kent Police said.
Officers were also called to a small fire which was started in a Marks and Spencer store in St George's Street. The store was evacuated but nobody was injured, police said.
There were also reports of suspicious activity at the Cricket Ground in Canterbury which detectives are investigating. It is not yet known if the incidents are linked.
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Adams said: "Yesterday afternoon we took two calls, one about a suspicious device on the railway line near Old Dover Road and one about a small but suspicious fire in Marks and Spencer and we have responded to them with our colleagues from other emergency services.
"We are now in a position to say that the first suspicious package on the railway line has been checked by Army bomb disposal experts and is not - as has been reported - an explosive device. We are satisfied it is in fact a hoax package designed to appear like a device. This is an extremely serious offence, and will be investigated thoroughly.
"The second incident at Marks and Spencer is still being investigated but the scene is secure. The small fire in the baby changing room on the second floor of the store is being treated as suspicious but it doesn't represent a threat."
Police advised people to avoid the city centre as the events unfolded, while drivers were told to seek alternative routes.
St George's Street and part of Old Dover Road were closed while the bus station, Rose Square and the Marlowe Arcade were evacuated, a police spokeswoman said.