Pubs closed in Birmingham bomb scare

Pubs and bars across Birmingham city centre were forced to evacuate after last Saturday's bomb scare prompted police to shut down the area.

Following the terrorist attacks in London two days earlier, the authorities took no chances after receiving warnings of a security threat and then finding a series of suspect packages in the city. It later emerged it was a false alarm.

The first that licensees heard of the alert was at 7.45pm when police issued a public warning - asking pubs to carry out searches for suspect packages and search customers entering their premises.

Clive Ritchie, licensee at the Brasshouse on Broad Street, near where a package was later found, said the evacuation at his pub ran smoothly. "There was no panic, even though we had to get about 300 customers out," he said. "I think with the troubles in London people were expecting it."

Despite the loss of trade, he added, it was "better to be safe than sorry".

A full evacuation of the city - around 20,000 people - eventually came at 8.40pm. A bomb disposal unit later carried out four controlled explosions on a bus in Corporation Street.

At Raphael's bar in Paradise Place, bar worker Bryony Taylor helped to round up people during the evacuation. "Everybody went really quickly, but there were a couple of younger customers who weren't happy because they had to leave their drinks and game of pool," she said.

It is believed that the incident will have cost pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants about £1m in lost business. But Sarah Hardwick, licensee at Raphael's, said: "I was just pleased all my staff got home safely."

However, the mass exodus meant that pubs and bars just outside the centre were overrun with customers. At the Queens Arms, on Newhall Street, licensee Kieran Berne said he had six times more drinkers than usual.

Pictured: Birmingham town centre.​