Forty homes are evacuated in Essex as a bomb squad examines 'small items' that police found after a 'neighbour dispute'

Two people — a man and a woman — were arrested after Essex Police forced entry into a property on Sawyers Grove, Brentwood, at around 7.20am on Friday, following reports of a damaged door amid a neighbour dispute. Inside, officers discovered several unidentified small items that required specialist examination, prompting the establishment of a 100-metre cordon covering much of Sawyers Grove and parts of Sawyers Hall Lane and Highland Avenue. Explosive ordnance disposal teams, with a robot spotted at the scene, are working to identify the objects. Both individuals are still in custody.

Displaced residents have been directed to King George's Playing Fields Pavilion as a rest point for as long as the cordon stays in position.

The street lies just metres from St Thomas of Canterbury Church of England Primary School — though half-term meant no children were on the premises.