Suspicious package sparks traffic chaos as police shut down Leeds city centre streets

The package was reported at a building in the Queen Street area, near East Parade, at about 11am.

An Army bomb disposal team were called in and advised police to evacuate all buildings in the immediate area.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: "We have received a report of a suspicious package at a building in the Queen Street area of Leeds City Centre.

"The Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team is attending to assess the situation but, as a precautionary measure, has advised an immediate evacuation of buildings in the immediate vicinity."

Police closed Quebec Street, King Street, Britannia Street, Wellington Street, Park Place, York Place, Queen Street and the bottom of East Parade to all traffic.

A large cordon was in place on King Street, with officers directing pedestrians away from the scene.

Katy Dolan, who works at the City Point offices on King Street, described the moment her building was evacuated.

Katy, 23, said: "I'm a bit shocked and it's not great being in the rain.

"There were no alarms, but the police came in and evacuated the whole building.

"Everyone is trying to work out who is staying to wait and who will work at home - it's a bit chaotic."

Companies at City Point include HSBC, Nexus Solicitors and Tilney financial advisors and nearby buildings were also evacuated - including Flawless photography studios at Kikenny House, King Street.

Yorkshire Ambulance incident response units were called in and were waiting on standby on Wellington Street.

Lydia Paige, whose offices were also evacuated, said: "It was an interesting morning in the office to say the least, a suspicious package found outside my office so it's been evacuated.

"I'm waiting to get on a train back home now - I'm not hanging about!"

The road closures sparked traffic chaos across the city centre, with queues backing up on Wellington Street to the junction with the A58(M).

Buses were stuck in queues for up to two hours and diversions were in place for all routes via King Street, Quebec Street and Infirmary Street.

The road closures were removed at 2pm, with just Park Place still closed to traffic, but there are residual delays of up to 70 minutes on buses.

A spokesperson for First Bus said: "Due the ongoing incident in Leeds City Centre, under the Bus Alliance, you are able to use a valid First Ticket on First West Yorkshire, Arriva Yorkshire and Transdev until the end of service February 20.

"The earlier police incident on King Street/Quebec Street has been cleared, services throughout Leeds City Centre are returning to normal route.

"Delays to services of up to 70 minutes at present, delays and unavoidable cancellations should be expected whilst we recover from the incident."