A STINK bomb was released into a city centre shop forcing a section of the city centre to be closed off.

West Mercia Police revealed the substance let off in the shop in Silver Street was a stink bomb and not harmful.

Fire crews and police officers cordoned off a section of the street, near Asda, while it dealt with the release of the then-unknown substance on Saturday evening (August 10).

West Mercia Police inspector, Ed Shotton, said: "It has now been established the substance that was sprayed into the shop was a stink bomb.

"I hope the public understand the steps we took were necessary to ensure everyone's safety.

"At the time it wasn't known what the substance was, and it could've caused harm.

"The behaviour was anti-social, had a significant impact on the local community and took up valuable time from emergency services.

"We will continue to work to identify those responsible.

"Anyone with any information is asked to get in touch by calling 01905 331030 and quoting incident number 342i of Saturday, August 10."

Police received initial reports about the incident at 7.20pm on Saturday (August 10), whilst crews from HWFRS were called at 7.30pm to ensure the area was safe.