Residents spend night away from Derby homes after major incident

Residents evacuated from 200 properties in Derby spent a night away from their homes after a major incident was announced and two people were arrested on suspicion of using explosives.

People were told to leave their homes on Thursday after Derbyshire Police executed a search warrant following intelligence about materials at a house in Vulcan Street.

Two men, one in his 40s and the other in his 50s, were arrested on suspicion of using explosives and are currently being held in custody.

Police said the incident was not being treated as a terrorist incident and there was no “wider risk to the community”.

Police said a controlled explosion was carried out at around 16:00 GMT on Thursday, and Derby City Council confirmed accommodation had been arranged for affected residents for Thursday night “and the coming days”.

The entirety of Vulcan Street was covered by the evacuation zone, as were Reeves Road and Shaftesbury Crescent.

Harrington Street from Holcombe Street to Vulcan Street; Baseball Drive to Columbo Street and Cambridge Street to Reeves Road and Shaftesbury Crescent are also included in the exclusion area.

Residents were briefly able to enter their homes until 8am on Friday after confirmation from British Army officers that it was safe.

Supt Becky Webster thanked residents for their “understanding and response”.

“Being asked to leave your home in these circumstances is understandably concerning and the support received by emergency services is excellent,” he said.

Police confirmed the Salvation Army retreat center on Osmaston Road was closed on Thursday night due to the departure of all people supported there.

The force added that anyone needing support should go to the Pakistan Community Center at 103 Harrington Street, where council staff will be on hand to help.

Speaking on Friday morning, the Salvation Army’s Gary Robb said the community response had been “excellent”.

“Of course it is a stressful time for them, but we have managed to maintain a calm environment and show some compassion during this crisis,” he said.

Amjad Ashraf, director of the Pakistan Community Centre, said about 50 families had arrived on Thursday afternoon and told the BBC that most had found alternative accommodation to spend the night.

“We have reassured everyone that if you don’t have somewhere to stay with friends or family, Derby Homes will be here and they will put people up in hotels.

“The community in the Normanton area always comes together very quickly to provide this support.

“We had the Gurdwara, which was also on Harrington Street, providing food and drink. We had volunteers coming together to provide that emotional support, a little bit of hand-holding and that’s really what’s needed in times like these,” he said.

Amy Anderson, who lives in Shaftesbury Crescent and is six months pregnant, told the BBC she had spent the night at her mother’s house with her son and felt “in limbo”.

“I’m hoping we can get back today, but I left the property last night thinking we might get in, so I really don’t know,” he said.

Ms Anderson added that she was “very lucky” to be able to stay at her mother’s house and that she knew some of her neighbors had been put up in hotels for the night.

A multi-agency meeting is scheduled for 8am and a further update will be issued once the briefing has taken place, police said.

Derbyshire Police said the two men arrested were Polish nationals.

A police spokesman told the BBC it had released this information in line with national guidance for law enforcement. Encouraging disclosure of suspects’ ethnicity and nationality To combat misinformation.