A street has been sealed off as police continue to search a property in Wigan amid reports that a bomb disposal unit was called to the scene.
Eyewitnesses posted photos on Twitter showing a bomb disposal van, and at least one street sealed off with a police cordon while a helicopter circled above.
Greater Manchester Police said officers had been at an address in the area since Wednesday evening, following the arrest of a man carrying a suspicious package.
A helicopter circled above the cordoned-off area, which stretched on to Wigan Lane, near the Wigan Royal Infirmary, while emergency vehicles filled the road, one witness said.
Wigan Council said Wigan Lane was closed between Mesnes Road and Central Parkway due to "a police incident", warning the public to avoid the area.
Tom Piper, who lives on Springfield Street, said the whole street had been evacuated.
The 25-year-old told the Press Association: "The police apparently turned up at 1.30am in the morning with guns and stormed the place. But I never heard it.
"Then they've been there all day, mainly just one or two police sat outside. Then about four or five-ish it looked like forensic people were there and then all of a sudden, about half-six, we all got told to evacuate."
Another witness said they had seen a bomb disposal squad unloading what appeared to be a specialist remote device to assist their search.
A GMP spokesman said: "We made an arrest in Wigan yesterday in connection with the investigation into the incident at Manchester Arena.
"Following this arrest, a house in Wigan was raided this morning and is currently being searched.
"Potentially suspicious items were found at the address and a large cordon has been put in place as EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) make an assessment.
"We have a number of officers on the ground and are evacuating people as a matter of precaution as public safety is paramount to our investigation.
"We are working with the local authority to accommodate those who have been evacuated."
The bomb disposal unit van arrived in Wigan Lane, near to the junction of Springfield Street, at about 7.15pm.
The cordon was then widened from Springfield Street to surrounding blocks.
One end of the cordon stretched 100 metres from Springfield Street to the Bellingham Hotel, near to Wigan Infirmary.
Police have also set up a roadblock near the Cherry Gardens pub further back on Wigan Lane, although traffic to the hospital appears to be passing through.
A crowd of about 100 people are waiting at the Bellingham Hotel side of the cordon waiting to be allowed to return to their homes.
One woman said she had been told by a police officer that the operation was "precautionary" and that hopefully the cordon would be lifted soon.
Wigan Hospitals said it was aware people were having problems accessing Wigan Infirmary, tweeting: "We advise that anyone needing to come to the hospital, please access via the entrance near to the Cherry Garden roundabout. Thank you again for your patience."
It later added: "At all costs, please try to avoid Wigan Infirmary A&E due to current police incident in surrounding areas #wigan."
The bomb disposal unit van drove off shortly after 9.05pm and about five minutes later residents in Springfield Street, Bellingham Avenue and Haigh Avenue were told they were now free to return to their homes.
The cordon in Wigan Lane is expected to be lifted shortly.
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