Residents spend the night away from Derby homes after major incident

Residents evacuated from 200 properties in Derby spent a night outside their homes after a serious incident was declared and two men were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences.

People were asked to leave their homes on Thursday after Derbyshire Police executed a warrant following information about materials at a house on Vulcan Street.

Two men, one in his 40s and another in his 50s, were arrested on suspicion of explosives offenses and are currently in custody.

The force said it was not being treated as a terrorist incident and there was “no further risk to the community”.

Police said a controlled explosion took place at around 16:00 GMT on Thursday, and Derby City Council confirmed that accommodation had been arranged for affected residents for Thursday night “and the coming days”.

The entirety of Vulcan Street was covered by the evacuation zone, as were Reeves Road and Shaftesbury Crescent.

Harrington Street, from Holcombe Street to Vulcan Street; Baseball Drive, to Columbo Street and Cambridge Street at Reeves Road and Shaftesbury Crescent were also included within the exclusion area.

Residents were able to access their homes for short periods of time until 8am on Friday following confirmation from British Army officials that it was safe to do so.

Superintendent Becky Webster thanked residents for their “understanding and response.”

“Being asked to leave your home in such circumstances is understandably worrying and the support the emergency services have had has been excellent,” he said.

The Salvation Army respite center on Osmaston Road was closed on Thursday night because all the people receiving support there had left, police confirmed.

The force added that anyone needing support should attend the Pakistan Community Center at 103 Harrington Street, where council staff would be on hand to help.

On Friday morning, Gary Robb of the Salvation Army said the community response had been “excellent”.

“It’s obviously a stressful time for them, but we were able to provide them with a calm environment and some compassion in that crisis,” he said.

Amjad Ashraf, who heads the Pakistan Community Centre, said about 50 families had arrived on Thursday afternoon and told the BBC that many had found alternative accommodation for the night.

“We assure everyone that if they don’t have somewhere to stay with friends or family, Derby Homes are on site and will put people up in hotels.

“The community in the Normanton area is always quick to mobilize to provide that support.

“We had the Gurdwara, which is also on Harrington Street, providing us with refreshments and some food. We had volunteers who came together to provide that emotional support, a bit of support, and in times like this, that is what is needed most,” he said.

Amy Anderson, who lives in Shaftesbury Crescent and is six months pregnant, told the BBC she spent the night at her mother’s house with her son and said she felt like she was “in limbo”.

“I hope we can get back in today, but I left the property thinking we could get back in last night, so I don’t really know,” he said.

Anderson added that she was “very lucky” to be able to stay at her mother’s house and knew that some neighbors had been put up in hotels for the night.

A multi-agency meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. and once that briefing has taken place, an additional update will be posted, police said.

The two men arrested are Polish nationals, Derbyshire Police said.

A police spokesperson told the BBC it had released this information in line with national guidance on how forces are encouraged to reveal the ethnicity and nationality of suspects to combat misinformation.