Remembrance Sunday parade in Preston diverted after suspect package found on Flag Market

Cordon in place at the Flag Market on November 10. Credit: Paul Yates

Preston’s parade to mark Remembrance Sunday was diverted after police were forced to evacuated the Flag Market.

The pre-procession was due to finish at the Flag Market for the Remembrance service to begin at around 10.50am this morning (November 10).

The service was then able to go ahead as planned despite to the discovery of a suspect package, Blog Preston understands. However, the return route from the Flag Market to the Bus Station had to be diverted and following a different route.

The Flag Market was cordoned off and explosive ordnance disposal teams were brought to the scene.

Pictures below, from Paul Yates, show the police activity which began as soon as the Flag Market had emptied of those who came to pay their respects for Remembrance.

Preston City Council advised that Lancashire Constabulary was leading on the incident.

A spokesperson for Preston Police told Blog Preston: “At around 11:30am on Sunday 10^th November we were called to reports of a suspicious package on Market Place, Preston.

“Officers attended and a 100m safety cordon was put in place to enable us to conduct a full investigation.

“Following our investigation, the package was confirmed to be non-suspicious, and the safety cordon was lifted. Thank you to the public for their cooperation.”

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