POLICE, scenes of crime officers and fire crews were drafted in after reports of a suspicious package at the Alexandra Hospital, writes Becky Procter.

The personnel department was sealed off for more than two hours and members of staff were evacuated following the discovery just after 12.30pm last Wednesday.

Patients staying in the hospital were not near enough to the department to be under any threat and remained in their beds.

The area was kept isolated while the scenes of crime officer carried out investigations to identify the unknown substance.

About 20 firefighters were at the scene and an environmental protection unit and a chemical unit were also drafted in.