National Rail said: "A security alert at Chester station means all lines are currently closed. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed or revised to not call at Chester." According to eyewitnesses, the city's bus station has also been sealed off by police.

A railway station used by millions every year was evacuated over what one witness claims was a ‘bomb scare’. Chester railway station and the nearby bus interchange in Newton were emptied out at around 6pm as a police cordon was placed.