A suspected 'bomb' that sparked a major evacuation of Frome town centre may turn out to have been a discarded pencil case.

Hundreds of people were forced to flee the Market Place after a suspicious package was discovered by staff in the Natwest bank at about 4.50pm on Thursday, June 24.

Although a police spokeswoman refused to confirm exactly what the package was, she did state that due to the nature of the incident it was deemed necessary to carry out a controlled explosion.

But within minutes of the explosion, rumours abounded that the package may have just been a pencil case.

The package was found in the bank's safety deposit box and the police were alerted. People were immediately evacuated and a cordoned-off area of about 200 metres was set up.

The Frome fire service were brought in and the bomb squad, based in Tidworth, Wiltshire, were called to the scene to investigate.

Motorists were diverted and people working in the town centre were told to leave their offices.

One woman, who did not wish to be named, said that there was no time to pick up belongings.

She said: "We were told to leave the premises immediately, I was told to leave my bag and possessions and I can't get home as my car is in the cordoned off area."

Pubs in the Market Place, including the Crown Hotel and the George, were also forced to close.

These and other pubs in the town centre were all particularly busy on the night because band The Stranglers were playing a sell-out show at The Cheese and Grain, and hundreds of their fans had travelled from around the country to be at the show.

Many found they could not get to their hotels and others were forced to abandon luggage when the alert was sounded. One fan, who had come from Stoke-on-Trent, said it added to the excitement.

"I was looking forward to the show but I didn't think the day itself would be so dramatic. I had thought Frome was a quiet, sleepy town."

The Stranglers' lead singer, Baz Warne, who used to live in King Street, Frome, joked to the audience at the concert that nothing as exciting ever happened when he was in the town and he changed the lyrics of the band's hit song Peaches to refer to the bomb scare.

Elsewhere, one man was in JT Barbers, in Bath Street, having his hair cut when the evacuation began – and was determined to not be left with half a cut.

Grant Slade said: "The fire brigade asked the two barbers, myself and another customer to leave. Unfortunately we were both half way through a haircut. The women in the barbers left with us and brought their battery clippers with them so we moved up to the church yard to finish our hair cuts."

The bomb squad arrived at about 6pm and at 7.30pm bomb disposal officers carried out a controlled explosion.

The road was re-opened at about 8.15pm and a police investigation is underway.

A police spokeswoman said: "We cannot confirm if the package was a pencil case. But I can confirm that it was not a bomb. A controlled explosion was conducted and the area was made safe."