Traders and workers at West Wilts Trading Estate were evacuated today after a dynamite scare turned out to be a false alarm involving theatrical and film props.

Police were called to Chemical Road at 10.20am, after 1st Call Skip Hire reported finding 16 sticks of what appeared to be unexploded dynamite in a skip.

The road was cordoned off and nearby businesses, including Chandlers Coaches, were evacuated as a precaution, with the Explosive Ordinance Disposal team from Tidworth called to the site.

However, the sticks of dynamite were discovered to be film props, from a private address in Erlestoke, and the businesses along the road were allowed to return to work just after noon.

The sticks of dynamite were found by 1st Call Skip Hire owner Steve Wordley and employee Philip Peplar, who were sorting the material in the skip ready to be taken to a landfill site.

Mr Wordley said: “It’s all back to normal now and the bomb disposal experts investigated it and it turns out  they were made by a special effects man who works for a film company.

“They were not happy because the guy hadn’t informed us that it wasn’t real beforehand, so it has wasted a lot of time and money.

“I feel like a bit of a fool now, but they said we did the right thing to report it as we weren’t to know it wasn’t real and it did look very convincing. We should have been informed so it could could have been disposed in a proper manner.”

Louise Knox, a spokesman for Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Services, said: “We had a crew from Westbury and an incident command crew from Devizes at the scene to maintain the cordon.

“We also helped the bomb disposal team go through the contents of the skip to make sure it was completely safe, after it was clear the dynamite wasn’t dangerous. We came away at 12.25pm.”