Sunday, July 10 2005 16:58 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Thousands of people were evacuated from bustling Birmingham following "a real and very credible threat" even as a security alert was lifted from Britain's second city today (July 10, 2005) as none of the packages found "were credible terrorist devices".

Britain's Interior Minister Charles Clarke said he expected the death toll in London serial blasts to rise and that he was optimistic that the perpetrators would eventually be found.

West Midlands Chief Constable Paul Scott Lee said today the decision to evacuate up to 30,000 people last night (July 9, 2005) from the city center had not been taken lightly and came after a "very specific threat".

Bomb squads conducted four controlled explosions in a bus near the Square Peg pub on Corporation Street to blow up four suspect packages but Scott Lee said they had nothing to with the intelligence warnings.

He also declined to describe the nature of the threat, which came two days after the bomb blasts in London Underground killing over 50 and injuring 700 but said intelligence indicated it was genuine.

He put the threat in the context of the broader global climate on terrorism and it was unrelated to the suspicious packages, which were found and turned out to be harmless.

"None of the devices found were credible terrorist devices." "The threat that we responded to was very specific," he said. "It was specific about the time and also the locations."

Asked if there was still a credible threat, he replied, saying, "As we've carried out our operation, I can say that that particular threat has gone away."

Police also ruled out any links between security operations in Birmingham since last night and Thursday's deadly blasts.

West Midlands Police put up an exclusion cordon around A38 inner city ring road after the warnings were received.

"Bearing in mind the current world climate, the public's safety is our absolute priority....We haven't had this level of threat before in Birmingham. The people of Birmingham were in danger last night," Scott Lee said.

Hundreds of people who had been sleeping over in the campus of Aston University have begun going back home after the lifting of the ten-hour long alert, during which the police cordoned off the Broad Street entertainment district and the city's Chinese quarter teeming with bars, theatres, restaurants and hotels.

Workers and residents have also returned to the city centre.

Britain's Interior Minister said the toll is, "Likely to be more than 50, adding, "I am confident that the perpetrators will be brought to justice in the end."

Meanwhile, as the city of London began getting back to normal, police continued their hunt for those who set off the bombs.

Police, who have made to arrests, said they were looking for no particular individuals and that the bombs were made of high explosive, not homemade materials.

Anxious relatives continued to scour hospitals in search of the loved ones missing since the serial blasts. Prayers were be said at church serives across the country.

Investigators are still trying to retrieve the bodies from tunnel deep below ground at King Cross station.