Back to the Top News Newsfeed

Old Trafford 'bomb' was training device, police confirm

A suspicious device that caused Manchester United's Premier League match with AFC Bournemouth to be postponed Sunday was a dummy left by a training company, police confirmed.

Old Trafford was partially evacuated around 20 minutes before the scheduled kickoff and the game was abandoned shortly afterward as Greater Manchester Police bomb-disposal teams were deployed to deal with an "incredibly lifelike explosive device" in the north-west quadrant of the stadium.

MORE: Hope Solo's Zika virus fears

A controlled explosion was later carried out, with GMP confirming that the device — reportedly strapped to a gas pipe — was "not viable.