A large part of central Manchester was evacuated on Saturday afternoon after a suspicious package was found on a bus.
Police, firefighters and army bomb disposal experts were scrambled to the bus station in Piccadilly Gardens at around 1pm after the package was spotted on a Stagecoach service.
The discovery led to the evacuation of Piccadilly Gardens and surrounding streets.
Businesses like Primark had to shut while bus and tram services through the Gardens were suspended.
Some travellers had to vacate Metrolink trams which were abandoned on routes in and out of the city's main square.
Army bomb disposal experts were also called to examine the package and three hours after the drama began it was deemed to be harmless.
The scare prompted two other reports of suspicious packages on buses, with passengers on alert because of the continuing Piccadilly Gardens incident.
Roads were closed in Salford Quays after another suspicious item was found on a bus at 2.25pm. There was also a third similar report on Aytoun Street in city centre Manchester. Both were quickly deemed to be harmless.
But the alert continued in Piccadilly Gardens until just after 4pm when bomb disposal officers concluded the suspicious package on the bus posed no risk.
The cordon was lifted and the city centre returned to normal.
Police believe the two other incidents followed well-intentioned reports by members of the public already on alert after news of the Piccadilly Gardens package had been broken.
Manchester Council's city centre spokesman Pat Karney, who was in the city when the evacuation happened, told the M.E.N: "There will be moans and groans about the inconvenience from people who had to go around it but I want to praise the emergency services.
"They didn't know what was on that bus when they arrived.
"They were there so quickly and they put their lives on the line. Everyone is wise after the event but given what we've been through in this city you have to take these situations seriously. I'm hundred per cent behind their actions. They did it to protect us."
The package concerned was seized by police and an investigation into the alert is underway.
A statement from GMP said: "At around 1.15pm today (Saturday 5 September 2020), police were called to reports that a suspicious item had been found on a bus at Manchester Piccadilly bus station.
"Officers have assessed the item and it has been confirmed that the item is safe and there is no risk to the public."
