Man arrested after Newcastle University evacuation

Northumbria Police said searches were stood down and a 33-year-old man was arrested after a report of a suspicious item at a Newcastle University building prompted precautionary evacuations and a cordon in Newcastle city centre on Friday, October 2. Police said the man was arrested on suspicion of communicating false information and remained in custody. The nature of the item and the outcome of the investigation were not reported. Police said they received the report at 2:10 p.m. at a building on Kings Walk. Newcastle University said a small number of its city-centre buildings were evacuated as a precaution while officers made enquiries. Students were unable to enter affected buildings, disrupting teaching, and people in nearby streets were kept away from the cordoned area. The restrictions affected several streets, including Queen Victoria Road, Brewery Lane, Kings Road and St Thomas Street. Reports said the majority of the cordon was withdrawn at about 4:45 p.m., but the King George VI Building remained taped off that evening. The supplied accounts did not confirm when that building or the remaining restricted areas reopened.