THREE small homemade explosive devices have been safely dealt with after around 40 homes were caught inside a major 100-metre police cordon in Brentwood.
The cordon around Sawyers Grove has now been lifted following an operation involving Essex Police, bomb disposal experts and Brentwood Council.
Officers were called to Sawyers Grove at around 7.20am today, Friday, October 30, following reports of a disturbance.
Police forced their way into an address and detained a man and a woman before a subsequent search uncovered three suspicious items.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal experts were called in and a 100-metre cordon was established as a precaution, affecting around 40 properties.
Residents were evacuated and those unable to return home were directed to King George's Playing Fields Pavilion.
The cordon stretched across much of Sawyers Grove and also affected small parts of Sawyers Hall Lane and Highland Avenue.
A resident living nearby described the incident earlier in the day as "unsettling", particularly given the number of schools in the area. She described seeing a bomb disposal vehicle, military personnel and an explosive ordnance disposal robot.
Police have now confirmed experts established all three suspicious items were small homemade explosive devices, which were safely dealt with.
An extensive search of the property was then carried out to check there were no further potentially dangerous items.
Police said the search was challenging and time-consuming because of the condition of the address.
Officers also recovered a number of wraps of suspected crack cocaine.
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Chief Inspector Terry Fisher said: “We fully appreciate the disruption this incident has caused to residents, particularly those who had to leave their homes at short notice.
“The cordon and evacuations were necessary precautions to ensure people’s safety while specialist colleagues assessed the items and a thorough search of the address was carried out.
“I’d like to thank everyone affected for their patience and understanding while we worked to make the area safe.”
A man and woman, both white British, aged in their 40s and from Brentwood, remain in custody for questioning on suspicion of offences under the Explosive Substances Act.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident remains ongoing.
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