'Bomb' that closed Todmorden was made of marzipan

More than 125 residents were evacuated and an Army bomb-disposal robot deployed on Friday when dustmen discovered what appeared to be three bundles of "C-4" plastic explosive, a smoke grenade and a package of Semtex, inside a bin bag.

Police at the time dismissed rumours that the incident had been caused by a soldier disposing of material he had acquired while on active service.

In fact, the devices were harmless "props", used for cadet force training.

They were discovered outside the home of Stephen Hunt, 62, whose son Steven made them from marzipan and other materials for use in his job as a cadet trainer.

Mr Hunt said: "Steven came here at the weekend and I told him to have a sort out. "He threw it all away, but unfortunately he did it at my house."

Insp Allan Raw of West Yorkshire Police said: "We had a duty to ensure public safety was maintained and that the threat was properly investigated. We believed this had to be treated as a genuine threat."

The A646 between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge was closed while police investigated the find, causing massive traffic disruption.