PART of Northwich town centre was evacuated on Monday lunchtime following a security alert at a busy High Street restaurant.

Staff at McDonald's raised the alarm at around 11am following a report that a suspicious package had been left unattended inside the building.

A police bomb disposal unit arrived shortly after midday and carried out a controlled explosion on the package at 12.40pm.

Members of the public and workers were ushered out of businesses and shops between Lavin's Wine Bar, on High Street, and the Old Crown pub, on Crown Street, at around 11.15am as police cordoned off the area.

The junction between the Bull Ring and Weaver Way was also closed to road traffic.

In a statement, McDonald's said: "We would like to make clear that McDonald's treats the safety and welfare of our customers and staff as an absolute priority.

"Therefore, following the report of a suspicious package, normal security procedures were implemented and the emergency services called. The restaurant was evacuated while the package was dealt with, and remained closed for a couple hours."

A police spokesman said: "In the end the security alert turned out to be a false alarm.

"The report was made with good intention though as a suspicious package had been left unattended.

"The cordon was lifted at 1.10pm once officers had declared the scene as safe for members of the public to return."

Police have not revealed what the suspect package contained.