Double bomb scare shocks Finchley Road and Temple Fortune

At around 9.30 all employees and customers at the 02 centre were evacuated after a call was received about a suspect car in the car park.

Around an hour later Marks and Spencer’s on Finchley Road Temple Fortune was evacuated. According to staff a suspicious silver car in the car park had sparked the scare.

At 12pm customers at the Waitrose store on Finchley Road, near to the O2 centre were held in the store while police looked into the Finchley Road threat.

At the O2 Centre police cordoned off the entrance and all roads leading to the car park at the back of the centre. Search dogs arrived at 10.20 to look for explosives and returned 50 minutes later having thoroughly searched all the cars in the car park and found nothing.

Suzy, 23, a gym member in the centre said: “I’m 20 minutes into a run on the treadmill and then the gym workers run in with their arms waving saying there has been a bomb scare and we need to evacuate the building immediately. It suddenly turned hectic.”

Meanwhile Radmila Loncar was locked inside a Waitrose due to the bomb scare on Finchley Road and wrote on twitter: “Food being handed out, at lest we won’t starve.”

Another shopper, Kate, reported that police had told them the bomb threat had been made on Waitrose, not on the O2 centre.

She tweeted: “Bomb scare in or near Waitrose Finchley rd. Seriously. We’re held at the back of the shop. Police on site.” She added that police dogs had given the area the all clear.

In 1993 there were three explosions on Finchley Road – including one in Dominos Pizza across the road - and another bomb which failed to detonate.

A police spokeswoman said “We received a phone call at 09.20 with reports of a suspect car in the car park of the Sainsbury’s at the O2 centre on Finchley Road. The shops around the car park closed, including Waterstones and Sainsbury’s and people were evacuated. Police are on the scene investigating and the safer Neighbourhoods team are also on scene.”