Magistrates' Court.

A Police spokesman said officers searched the courts yesterday after receiving a call at 10.30 a.m. that a bomb had been placed there.

"The building was declared safe around 11.30 a.m. and everything returned to normal,'' he said.

While several people calmly left the building, unaware of why, one person requested people not delay because he understood the evacuation was linked to a bomb threat.

Traffic was diverted away from the building while those evacuated and pedestrians were kept on the opposite side of the street.

This is the second bomb hoax in six months at Magistrates' Court.

The first took place last November when someone telephoned a warning to the court.