Two people have been hospitalised in Bath with breathing difficulties and itchy eyes after a suspicious woman approached them with a bag.
Police donned hazmat suits as they responded to what some fear is a chemical attack on Stall Street, in Bath city centre around 2.30pm today.
Bath’s renowned Roman Baths, along with a Primark store and a NatWest bank branch, are on the street.
Witnesses say some members of the public had been stripped of their clothing and placed in hazmat suits in the back of ambulances.
One said: ‘They took one woman off into some blue tarpaulin sheets and seemed to have hosed her down.
‘She must have been told to remove her clothes, as she came out wearing a big orange suit covering her body.
‘Then she was walked to the ambulance escorted by what I think was a paramedic wearing a full hazmat suit with breathing apparatus.’
So far police are downplaying what they describe as ‘an incident’, declining to confirm whether this was the result of any chemical.
Both the individuals ‘feeling unwell’ were able to talk to paramedics who attended the scene, a police spokesperson said.
‘We’re not aware of any further reports of people feeling unwell’, Avon & Somerset Police said in a statement.
‘As a precaution, emergency personnel are wearing protective clothing.
‘We are working with South Western Ambulance Service and Avon Fire And Rescue Service at the scene and have well-rehearsed plans for responding to such incidents.’
Parts of central Bath are cordoned off as pictures show dozens of ambulances, police cars and fire engines along the sometimes narrow streets.
Not all emergency responders are in protective clothing, however, with some fire fighters seen standing and sitting around with half their uniform at their feet.
Fire crews are understood to have conducted an air quality test at the scene before the cordon could be lifted, the Bath Echo reported.
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