A hoax call led to a bomb scare at a Penwortham haulage company.

A police investigation has been launched after a caller reported seeing a suspicious package in the premises Ainsworth and Martin Ltd, off Leyland Road, on Monday morning.

In a scene simiar to television's Crime Scene Investigation, a specialist bomb disposal unit was called after a member of staff discovered a black tin at 7am.

A 50-metre police cordon was put in place around the building, near Penwortham Sports and Social Club, and workers were evacuated from the premises and some residents were asked to leave their homes.

Following investigations by a bomb squad from the Explosion Ordnance Department, the package was deemed safe and removed for forensic analysis.

A police spokesman said: "Officers decided the package was not suspicious but when we first had the call we needed to treat it as a very serious nature.

"It is important now that we can carry out our investigations and we have a number of line of inquiries to follow. Forensic tests are still ongoing on the package that was found."

Pedestrians and motorists watched as the drama unfolded.

Darren Robinson, operations manager at Ainsworth and Martin Ltd, said: "There was a hoax within the premises and the police are currently investigating. We had to evacuate everyone from the premises but fortunately, for us, everyone is well."