Massey's Wellington campus evacuated

Massey University's Wellington campus was evacuated for more than two hours today after a bomb scare which turned out to be a harmless old briefcase and possibly a couple of batteries.

A suspicious package was reported just before 2pm, several hundred staff and students were evacuated and part of Wallace Street was closed to traffic.

The briefcase was found to contain only a small tin and cosmetics container. It is believed two batteries were also found wired together in an engineering building and these were also investigated.

The army, fire service and police were present. The bomb squad arrived but were not needed.

The campus was reopened shortly before five and classes resumed as normal.

- NZPA