One of the main roads into Kent's County Town was cordoned off this evening after a bomb alert.

Several emergency services including police cars, ambulance vehicles and the bomb squad were called to Tonbridge Road, Maidstone.

Police cordoned off Tonbridge Road

The cordon stretched from Bower Street to St Michael's Road.

People within the cordon were told to evacuate their homes and say they were told it was because of a suspect device.

One woman told KentOnline just before 8pm: "We were evacuated two hours ago due to an explosive device being found in the close vicinity – they didn’t say where."

A Kent Police spokesman said: "A road in Maidstone was closed after a suspicious item was located at a property in Tonbridge Road.

"Officers attended the address shortly after 4pm on Sunday, April 10 where they discovered materials believed to be suspicious.

"Neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution whilst specialist officers were called to the scene.

"The EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] attended and the item was declared safe."

People were allowed back into their homes at about 8.45pm but the road remained closed for a while afterwards.

Lots of families had spent some time standing around just outside the taped-off area waiting to return, some in their pyjamas; others waited with their dogs. Some huddled together for warmth and an older man brought out a foldable chair to sit in.

Gemma Nauman, 40, lives in nearby St George's Square. She said: "We got a knock on the door about 6.30pm, and was asked to evacuate. We were told in our road we couldn't drive out, we just had to evacuate while they were looking into it.

"I was a bit shocked. I asked if we had a couple of minutes to get out, and they said yes, but they did emphasise to leave quite quickly.

"We stood by the cordon for about 45 minutes, then went down the road to get some cups of coffee.

"To be honest I didn't take it particularly seriously because it is not the kind of thing that happens every day. I didn't think it was real."

Wendy Ingram, 48, lives in Bromley Terrace. She said: "Police knocked on the door just before 6pm and my son answered. I didn't believe them.

"At first I thought it was a joke and then we saw the police. It was quite a shock really.

"We have been waiting a few hours now. We are lucky though and can't complain."