Police treated the bomb threat at Mayenne Place as a major incident after a man they arrested said there might be explosives at his flat.

A 46-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of threats to commit criminal damage shortly after 1pm yesterday at his flat in Mayenne Place.

After being told there could be explosives in the property the police set up a cordon and extended it at 3.30pm. A total of 30 flats and 12 houses were evacuated and residents either stayed with friends or family or went to Browfort, the former Wiltshire Council and Kennet District Council offices, in Bath Road which had been turned into an emergency centre.

The Explosive Ordnance Department of the Ministry of Defence attended and used a robot to blow off the arrested man’s door at the first floor flat in a controlled explosion just after 10.30pm. They and the police then searched the flat but found no explosives.

The cordon was lifted at 11.10pm and residents were allowed back to their homes at 11.30pm. Some police officers remained at the scene until 2am.

The arrested man was being interviewed at Swindon Police Station this morning.

Inspector Matthew Armstrong of Devizes Police said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the local community for their support and patience during this incident. We acted on information disclosed to us and took the relevant, precautionary measures.”