St Leonards major chemical incident stood down, say police | UK News

A major chemical incident in St Leonards has been “stood down” and most of the 80 people evacuated have returned home, police confirmed.

Sussex Police carried out a “controlled burn” of the chemicals on Saturday, which were discovered at a property on the A259 Marina on Thursday.

The force said the majority of residents had been allowed to return home on Saturday night.

The incident led the organisers of the Hastings half marathon on Sunday to cancel the event, which had more than 3,000 runners take part last year.

Nice Work, which manages the race, called it off on Saturday evening, saying the decision “was not taken lightly” and it accepted “how disappointing this is for everyone”.

Sussex Police said they had discovered about 500 additional cannisters during their operation, with the chemicals contained in them “not considered to be explosive”.

A 28-year-old man has been detained under the Mental Health Act while inquiries continue.

A force spokesperson said: “Investigations are ongoing. However, from evidence gathered so far, there is no indication that the 28-year-old man arrested intended to cause harm either to himself of anybody else.”

Police said a cordon remained in place, covering a section of the marina towards the seafront and part of the A259 would remain closed until further notice.

Hastings Borough Council was supporting remaining residents unable to return while testing continued close to their homes.

Runners due to take part in the half marathon have expressed their disappointment at the cancellation of the race.

Emma Critchley, from Sevenoaks, told Radio Sussex she was “disappointed” as it would have been the first time she has taken part in seven years.

She said: “I was quite pumped for it, I did my training and booked my train ticket only to find out the event was not happening.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s a crazy situation that no-one has had to deal with before.”

Ms Critchley said there was “frustration” over the timing of the announcement but added she “sympathises” with the organisers.

“I’ve never been involved in organising a massive event but I think there’s so many layers they had to go through,” she said.

“I was looking forward to jogging along the seaside. I hope they can reschedule it.”

Nice Work said it was “truly overwhelmed” by the “heartwarming” support from runners, volunteers and associates.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We won’t lie, there have been tears. We are working alongside The Hastings Lions and we will be in touch with all runners as soon as we can.”

Hastings band The Coverups had been due to perform at the event, outside the Premier Travel Chauffeurs.

They posted on their Facebook page: “Unfortunately the Hastings half marathon has officially been cancelled.

“Commiserations to the runners, fundraisers and everyone who has been involved in the set up and promotion. Genuinely gutted for you all.”

Hastings Lions Club, which organises the half marathon, thanked people for their “patience and understanding”.

Club president Hayley Luck said: “We worked tirelessly alongside the Nice Work team, communicating with the relevant authorities and the police to try to allow the half marathon to go ahead.

“So much hard work and passion goes into organising this event and we cannot express enough how disappointed we are that we were unable to achieve this.”

The has approached Nice Work to confirm if the half marathon will be rescheduled.