Residents spend night away from Derby homes after major incident

Residents evacuated from 200 properties in Derby have spent a night away from their homes after a major incident was declared and two men were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences.

People were told to leave their homes on Thursday after Derbyshire Police carried out a warrant following intelligence about materials at a house in Vulcan Street.

On Thursday evening, police said residents would not be able to stay at their homes overnight but could return to collect urgent items up until 08:00 on Friday.

Two men – one in his 40s, another in his 50s – were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences, and are currently in custody.

The force said it was not being treated as a terrorism incident and that there was “no wider risk to the community”.

Police said a controlled explosion was carried out at about 16:00 GMT on Thursday, with Derby City Council confirming accommodation had been arranged for affected residents for Thursday night “and the coming days”.

The entirety of Vulcan Street was covered by the evacuation zone, as was Reeves Road and Shaftesbury Crescent.

Harrington Street, from Holcombe Street to Vulcan Street; Baseball Drive, up to Columbo Street, and Cambridge Street at Reeves Road and Shaftesbury Crescent were also included within the exclusion area.

Derbyshire Police said on Thursday evening that residents would be able to access their homes temporarily following confirmation from British Army officers that they were happy for people to return for a short period in a managed and safe manner.

Supt Becky Webster thanked residents for their “understanding and response”.

“Being asked to leave your home under such circumstances is understandably concerning and the support that the emergency services have had has been excellent,” she said.

The force confirmed at 22:00 on Thursday that the council were closing the rest centre at the Salvation Army in in Osmaston Road as all people who were being supported there had left.

It added anyone who required support should attend the Pakistani Community Centre at 103 Harrington Street where council staff would be on hand to help.

Speaking on Friday morning, Gary Robb, from the Salvation Army said the community response to the incident had been “excellent”.

“The volunteers from our church came together really well. We were able to offer our support in all the ways that we could do.

“Obviously it’s a stressful time for them but we were able to provide a calm environment and provide some compassion in that crisis.”

Amjad Ashraf, who runs the Pakistan Community Centre, said he was approached by the city council to help with its response to the incident early on Thursday afternoon.

“For us, naturally that’s a yes – we serve the community, we’re based in the community.

“Initially there was a lot of confusion in terms of how long this major incident is going to last for, [but] I think the council and the police put the message out that there’s a likelihood that it’s going to be for 24 hours.

“That shocked a lot of people, [they] were really taken aback,” he said.

Mr Ashraf said about 50 families had come in on Thursday afternoon, and told the BBC many had found alternative accommodation for the night.

“It’s times like this when the community really pulls together and supports one another, and this is another great example of that,” he said.

A multi-agency meeting is scheduled to take place at 08:00 GMT and once that briefing has occurred a further update would be released, police said.

The two men who have been arrested are Polish nationals, Derbyshire Police has said.

A police spokesperson told the BBC it had released this information in line with national guidance around forces being encouraged to disclose the ethnicity and nationality of suspects to combat misinformation.