On Saturday (1st July), officers were encouraging members of the public to avoid Abbotts Road in Leek whilst they worked with partners to make an address safe.
Local patrols worked with colleagues from fire, ambulance and the military to make a property safe on Abbotts Road due to information indicating it could contain potentially unsafe chemicals.
Officers were called to an address on the road at around 7am to reports of a man in need of urgent medical attention. The man, aged in his 40s, was found to be covered in an unknown substance and so colleagues from West Midlands Ambulance Service and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended to provide specialist support to the individual and to ensure the substance was no risk to members of the public.
The man was taken to hospital and remains there in a stable condition.
Following further investigation, it was believed that a property on Abbotts Road contained a mixture of unsafe chemicals. To ensure the safety of the local community, colleagues from the British Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were called in to complete a specialist search of the address.
Police introduced road closures on Novi Lane and its junctions with Windsor Drive and Milner Terrace, and Abbotts Road from the junction with Westminster Road to the junction with The Crescent. Limited evacuations of nearby properties also took place.
The numbers of officers and PCSOs from the Staffordshire Moorlands Local Policing Team were increased in the area to provide reassurance.
On Saturday evening, Moorlands Police issued the following statement:
‘We are pleased to confirm that, following a specialist search, no items of concern were found in Abbotts Road, Leek. The roads are now reopening and police presence will now reduce. Officers are thanking residents for their cooperation throughout the day.’
