A man in his 60s has been arrested following a hoax bomb threat in Newnham in the Forest of Dean on Friday afternoon.

Police were called shortly before 1.25pm with a report of a man on a bus who had made threats.

The bus driver stopped the vehicle on Newnham High Street and passengers who were on board got off the bus.

Police officers attended, a man was arrested and a cordon was put in place with road closures due to concerns about an item which the man had left on the bus.

It has since been established that the item contained nothing of concern and the cordon and road closures have been removed.

“Due to the report there was a coordinated emergency services response, and we appreciate that this incident was likely distressing for those involved,” said a police spokesman.

“Hoax threats like this will not be tolerated,” he added

The local neighbourhood policing team remained in the area on Friday for reassurance patrols offering support to the local community.

Anyone who was on the bus and has not already spoken to officers at the scene can provide information to online by completing the following form and quoting incident 155 of 2 August: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/.../tell-us-about.../