Managers at the Fishergate Shopping Centre have thanked customers for their patience following Thursday’s bomb incident.
AdvertisementThe shopping centre in Preston was evacuated after a small explosive device was found in a toilet by a customer.
It has been closed since shortly after 9am on Thursday and Preston Police are now looking for a man seen on CCTV footage in the St George’s Shopping Centre.
Keith Mitchell, Fishergate Shopping Centre manager, said centre staff had carried out a routine evacuation procedure and had worked closely with the emergency services throughout the incident.
He said: “The safety of our customers, colleagues and staff is paramount and centre staff carried out our evacuation procedure calmly and efficiently.
“We would like to thank all our customers for their help, understanding and patience and the emergency services for their professionalism during this incident.
“We are liaising with the police and working with them to get the shopping centre reopened and back to normal as soon as we possibly can.”
Butler Street and the railway station car park have now been reopened.
Leader of Preston City Council, councillor Peter Rankin, said: “Clearly, it’s a concern that a small crude device like this has been deliberately placed in the toilets of a Preston shopping centre. We are working closely with the Police who are investigating the incident.
“The City Centre is open and we’d encourage people to go about their normal business, although remain vigilant as ever. We would like to thank the Police and the emergency services for the professional way they have handled this incident.”
Thursday’s are normally late night shopping in Preston, but the Fishergate centre is to remain closed until Friday morning.
As of Friday morning the shopping centre had reopened and is operating as usual.