A FULL-scale evacuation of a Hampshire council building proved to be a storm in a teacup.

Hundreds of staff were ordered to leave Eastleigh Borough Council’s Leigh Road headquarters after a suspicious package was found.

The parcel that sparked the alert was encased in a polystyrene box, delivered yesterday morning and marked for the parking department.

Unable to detect what was inside the authority called in the police and an investigation established that it was safe to open.

The Daily Echo understands the box contained a promotional coffee mug from a firm of bailiffs hoping to win a contract from the council.

Staff were outside the potential blast zone for more than half an hour.

One worker, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Daily Echo: “It sounds hilarious but it’s got to be done I suppose. Even if 99 times out of 100 it is a false alarm you have to put safety first.”

Another said: “Everyone was talking about it afterwards but I didn’t have clue what was going on when we were evacuated.

“It sounds funny now and I suppose it might be a bit embarrassing for the council but imagine what would happen if it was a bomb or dangerous chemicals and they didn’t evacuate the building.”

A council spokesman said last night: “Following the delivery of a suspicious package to the civic offices this morning an evacuation plan was put in place. Police inspected the package and found it to be safe.”