Security farce sparks Old Trafford evacuation

Manchester United’s Premier League game with Bournemouth on the final day of the season was abandoned after security officials discovered a suspect package that had been left during a training exercise held at the Old Trafford stadium four days earlier.

In a development that will prove hugely embarrassing to the club, Greater Manchester Police confirmed late on Sunday that the controlled explosion that took place to neutralise the device was carried out on a dummy “bomb” left in toilets in the Stretford End on Wednesday.

GMP Assistant Chief Constable John O’Hare said: “Following today’s controlled explosion, we have since found out that the item was a training device which had accidentally been left by a private company following a training exercise involving explosive search dogs.