Update after emergency services response to incident in Bath

An arrest has been made following an incident in Bath in which a small number of people reported feeling unwell.

The ambulance service was called at approximately 2.30pm yesterday (Monday 29 July) to Stall Street and were informed a woman in possession of a plastic bag had approached members of the public, who then felt ill.

We were contacted by the ambulance service at 3.08pm and a cordon was set up to allow emergency services to respond and ensure the wider public remained safe. Avon Fire and Rescue Service also attended.

The ambulance service initially informed us they had taken two people to hospital, but ultimately only one woman needed to be conveyed because she was experiencing breathing difficulties and itchy eyes. She was checked over and discharged later in the evening.

The scene was lifted shortly before 8pm after the area had been checked. No trace of any chemical or hazardous substance was found.

CCTV enquiries were carried out to identify the individual who was in possession of the plastic bag at the time of the incident. A 73-year-old was subsequently arrested on suspicion of administering an unknown noxious substance.

Chief Inspector Scott Hill, of the Bath Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We’d like to thank the public for their patience and understanding while we dealt with an incident in Bath yesterday.

“Public safety is always our top priority and we implemented well-rehearsed plans to ensure this isolated incident was dealt with as swiftly and effectively as possible.

“All emergency services have a duty of care to their staff and so a decision was made to wear protective clothing while there was uncertainty about what we were dealing with.

“Further enquiries will be required to fully understand what caused some people to experience feeling unwell, but to help us progress that work we have made an arrest as we seek to establish whether any offence has been committed.

“We can confirm thorough testing of the surrounding public area was carried out before the cordon was lifted which confirmed there were no traces of any chemical substance.

“We are aware there was speculation on social media yesterday about this and hope confirming this provides reassurance to the public. We are not aware of there being any increased risk to the public but officers will be on patrol in the city centre today if anyone wishes to speak with us directly to raise any concerns they may have.”

Anyone with information that could assist out enquiries is asked to contact us via our online form or on 101 and quote reference number 5224197741.