MEMBERS of the public, businesses and politicians have praised the emergency services for their swift response to the bomb scare in Newport this week.

A bomb scare at Friars Walk and George Street Bridge closed roads for hours, leaving many people stranded on Thursday.

The incident began at around 3pm after Gwent Police received reports of a ‘suspicious vehicle’ in Friars Walk in Newport, with specialist bomb squad officers later attending the scene.

It was later confirmed by police that no controlled explosions were carried out.

At around 5pm Gwent police confirmed that a second ‘suspicious item’ had been reported at George Street Bridge.

Neither incident was found to be terrorist related.

Simon Pullen, who is centre manager of Friars Walk, said he was “thankful” for what the emergency services did.

He said: “When we received the evacuation call we did so promptly and everyone was absolutely fantastic in doing so.

“The police were absolutely fantastic in dealing with the incident.

“In light of the incident in Manchester we had increased awareness and have additional staff.

“We are not going to alter what we have in place from the other day.”

Kevin Ward, manager of Newport Now BID, said: “I thought it was exemplary.

“The emergency services did a fantastic job.

“People were calm they didn’t react badly to being delayed or stuck. People gave police officers bottles of water. You saw everyone come together.

“The council put on extra bus services for people and those who had their cars stuck were able to leave without paying.

“Newport at its best, really.”

Jeff Cuthbert, police and crime commissioner, thanked members of the emergency services and also called for the public to remain vigilant.

He said: “I would like to thank Gwent Police, Newport City Council and other emergency services partners for their professionalism and the manner in which they conducted themselves in response to the reported incidents in Newport yesterday.

“Understandably, there was disruption, but the response was swift and shows that the police and our partners across other emergency services and Newport City Council have well-rehearsed plans for incidents of this nature.”

Council leader Debbie Wilcox said: “It is great to see that the multi-agency approach swung into action on Thursday night to deliver a co-ordinated response in getting messages out to the public and helping them get home from a stressful situation.

“We hope the public will continue to remain vigilant and report any incidents to the number provided.”

Gwent Police are asking people who have any concerns regarding possible terrorist activity to contact the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 or in an emergency Gwent Police on 999.