A large police cordon has been put in place in Leeds City centre this morning, after a suspicious package was found on Harewood Street near the new Victoria Gate shopping centre.

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “At 8.39am today, police received a report of a suspicious package in Harewood Street in Leeds city centre. “A cordon has been put in place while the package is examined.”

There are reports that a bomb disposal team are on the scene, and a controlled explosion by the military is planned.

Reports on Twitter state that a man was seen acting suspiciously after abandoning the package and taking a photo of it.

Actor Paul Dunphy described the package on Twitter as “small, wrapped in tin foil & had a large aerial protruding from it like an old-style cordless phone”.

More information as we get it.

Jessica Murray

(Image: Nick Wilmshurst)