A BOMB scare at the weekend forced the evacuation of Blackpool Victoria Hospital's new accident and emergency unit.

The state-of-the-art unit, which opened last week, had to be cleared after a suspect package was discovered in the waiting room by a member of staff on Saturday night (September 15).

A spokesman for the hospital said that bosses decided to clear the new unit -- part of the hospital's £30 million Phase V development -- as a safety precaution. Ambulances also had to be re-routed to the Royal Preston Hospital. "A decision was taken to evacuate the department as a precautionary measure. This resulted in four patients being moved to another area of the hospital site", said a spokesman.

"The police were called immediately and they then alerted the bomb squad. The bomb squad x-rayed the package and discovered that it was harmless.

"The hospital staff reacted swiftly and professionally and were later praised by the police for the way in which they responded to this incident," the spokesman added.