Following on from the London terror attacks on Thursday (07 July 2005), the bus station in Stourbridge and surrounding roads including Foster Street was closed off to the general public after a security alert on Thursday night (07 July 2005). A suspect package was discovered, which was later given the all clear, causing mayhem to the town services after the terrible events in the Capital.

As a passing witness to the event on Thursday night, it was a strange feeling and atmosphere, as buses were impounded in Foster Street, unable to move, and also the way some of them were parked up, especially a number nine which was parked in the middle of Foster Street, just about to turn into the bus station, just deserted there. Some routes had missed journeys due to the fact that they were not able to leave the area for quite some time, other services were able to operate, with passengers being picked up and dropped off either in Birmingham Street, or outside the Mercede's Garage on the Ring Road.

The webmaster would like to offer his sympathy to anybody who has been affected by the events in London. The police are advising that over the next few weeks, while things get back to normal, to keep a vigilant watch of any suspicious packages or events happening on the public transport, and if anything is suspicious enough, report it.

The following report featured in The Express and Star, July 8th 2005:

Army Squad called in after 999 call over suspicious package
Town station sealed off after bomb square
By Paul Kelly
Stourbridge bus station was sealed off following a bomb alert hours after explosions rocked London. The Army Bomb Squad was drafted in after police received a 999 call over a suspicious package.

The package was in a waste bin on a walkway linking Stourbridge Town railway station and the bus station. A robot was sent in to destroy the package at about 8.20pm. It was not a bomb and it was not immediately clear if the 999 call was genuine or a hoax.

The area around the station was sealed off by police and buses were stopped from entering the station while the bomb squad from the Army's Royal Logistical Corps, dealt with the package. It was destroyed in two controlled explosions.

Police barred people from entering the scene and also evacuated nearby homes during the alert, which came in about 6.45pm.

Pub landlady Kim Jones, whose Rock Station pub is opposite the bus station, said police officers came into her pub and told her to evacuate the premises. She said: "The police were out there for a couple of hours and then they came in and asked us to leave and they also evacuated the surrounding area. The bomb squad arrived and they sent a robot in. It is frightening whenever something like this happens. I realise the police had to take it seriously in view of what happened in London."

Dudley Council community safety chief Councillor Les Jones was at the scene and said that the police had received a report of a bomb. He said: "It was treated as a genuine report of a possible incident."

Scores of buses were unable to enter the station and had to pick up and collect passengers nearby. Bus driver Charles Roberts, of Kingswinford, was stopped from running the 289 Wollaston Farm evening service. He said his bus was stopped from moving between 6.45pm. He was let out at about 9pm.

A 19-year-old man, from Wolverhampton, was arrested last night on suspicion of making a hoax call.