Residents in Eastbourne town centre have returned to their homes after a major evacuation operation was stood down, following the discovery of a suspicious liquid at a property on Hyde Road.
The alarm was raised at 5:27pm on Monday, 23 June, when Sussex Police were called to investigate a bottle containing an unidentified substance. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was deployed as a precaution.
Evacuation of 160 Homes
In response, police evacuated approximately 160 homes across several roads on Tuesday (24 June), including:
- Hyde Road
- Camden Road
- Calverley Road
- West Terrace
- Bath Road
- Parts of Grove Road and York Road
An 85-metre safety cordon was established around the scene. A rest centre was set up at Eastbourne Town Hall by Eastbourne Borough Council to support displaced residents, with officers conducting door-to-door evacuations.
Area Declared Safe
By late Tuesday afternoon, the EOD team had completed their assessment and confirmed that no further threat was posed by the substance.
