Shoppers and staff were dramatically evacuated from a Burwood Kmart store for two hours after a broken toy in a store room sparked a bomb scare.
Police confirmed that a staff member had found a suspicious item in the Kmart storeroom with LED lights, with officers called in as a precaution.
“We received a call just after 9am that a staff member here at Kmart had found a suspicious package which looked like it had a couple of LEDs on it,” Sgt Darren Kestle said.
“They weren’t sure what it was and it became a big concern so they evacuated the store as a matter of course.”
The item – which was found by a cleaner – was believed to be part of a children’s toy with lights, batteries and wires that had been dismantled.
“It was broken which is why it wasn’t immediately identifiable,” he said.
“The cleaner had actually stuck it there and tied it onto the cleaner’s cage because they thought it looked OK, but it turned out to be nothing.
“The bomb squad came down and cleared it, and it’s all good,”