Barnet police carried out a controlled explosion near the Community Security Trust’s head offices in Hendon, North-West London, this week when a CST employee reported seeing a suspect package while travelling to work.

The suspicious-looking suitcase had been left on Harmony Way, off Brent Street, on Tuesday morning. Police were called to the scene, where a cordon was put in place around Victoria Road and Brent Street and a controlled explosion was carried out.

However, the suitcase was in fact a bag of rubbish.

Mark Gardner, director of communications at the CST, said: “Police quickly attended and shared CST’s concerns but thankfully showed it to have been nothing untoward.”