Bomb scare diverts Brighton Pride march

A police force today spent hundreds of pounds giving a patrol auto and a motorbike a colourful makeover in rainbow colours ahead of a gay pride parade.

The area on the A259 by the bandstand is now cordoned off and the area has been evacuated.

“We believe the item was placed there deliberately and made to look like a suspicious device to disrupt the parade”.

An investigation has been launched to find the person responsible for a bomb scare which delayed the start of Brighton Pride’s annual parade.

The parade had to be rerouted, whilst bomb disposal experts were called to the site, who after a series of tests carried out a controlled explosion on the object. There is no risk to the public and we ask that the public respect the cordons that are in place.

The march will now travel from Lansdowne Place, along Western Road, before continuing on its original route from the clock tower.

Organisers had a planned a new “high profile” route for 2015 along the city’s popular coastline but after a delay of more than an hour and a half were forced to resort to their former route.

This year marks Brighton Pride’s 25th anniversary and more than 160,000 people are expected to take part in the two-day event. It is the largest event held in Brighton, and has featured music from acts including Fatboy Slim and the Human League.

The suspect package has been detonated in a controlled explosion as part of “normal police procedure”.