EMERGENCY services went on the alert after a woman's love letter sparked an anthrax scare.
Police, fire and ambulance crews raced into action in Oldbury, West Midlands, on Saturday (October 20) after a man received an envelope containing a strange powder.
He feared it was anthrax and dialled 999. But tests revealed the powder was harmless and the police quickly traced the package to an address in Bealey Row, Radcliffe.
The anthrax scare was later discovered to be a tale of sweet nothings.
The woman, who has not been named, told police that she had made contact with the Oldbury man via an internet chat room and had promised to send a picture of herself.
She included a "Love Heart" sweet bearing the words "Guess Who?" But during its journey from Bury to Oldbury, via Wolverhampton sorting office, the sweet was crushed into a powder.
A spokesman for Bury police said: "It was purely innocent.
"Unfortunately, under the current circumstances, the crushed sweet caused an anthrax scare.
"The woman concerned is very embarrassed."
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