A bomb scare on a popular student street prompted a mass evacuation last week.
Police swooped on Gordon Street, just off Heslington Road, when a World War One hand grenade was found in one of the houses.
Residents were evacuated for around an hour and the street was cordoned off whilst the police and Catterick Bomb Disposal Squad made the area safe.
“I thought it was a wind up,” said third-year History of Art student Hettie Dix, who lives nearby. “The policeman didn’t exactly whip up a panicked frenzy, people were gathering at the end of the road behind the police tape to see what was going on.”
The grenade was first discovered by the residents at Number 5 whilst they were clearing out their house. The bomb disposal squad were later able to confirm that it was not live.
Third-year resident Apoorva Rao, said: “I wasn’t exactly scared but I was shocked… this is York, nothing is ever meant to happen!”
The Politics and International Affairs student explained that she and her neighbours were told by police to leave their houses immediately due to the danger the grenade could pose.
“I was planning on going to the library,” she added. “I’ve run out of time now, but I don’t think the Politics Department will be very understanding!”