Gatwick Terminal Evacuated After Security Alert

Police have evacuated Gatwick Airport's North Terminal after a suspect package sparked a security alert.

A man has been arrested after he was allegedly seen discarding a suspicious item in the building.

Bomb squad experts were sent to the airport in West Sussex to investigate.

Crowds are waiting at the airport and nearby roads have been closed. Gatwick officials have apologised for the disruption.

Passengers evacuated from the North Terminal have been taken to nearby hotels.

UK airports and ports remain on high alert following the Paris attacks that left 127 people dead and many more injured.

Crowds at the airport on Saturday morning. Pic: Tim Unwin

However, police stressed there is no confirmation of a link with Gatwick.

Detective Superintendent Nick May said: "At this time, we are investigating the circumstances of the incident and it is too early to say what the item may be.

"However, given the events in Paris on Friday evening, there is heightened awareness around any such incident and it is best that we treat the matter in all seriousness.

"We are aware that there is concern about what has happened in France, but the general threat level remains the same and people should be aware as usual of anyone acting suspiciously."

Officers were called to the airport at 9.30am, and it is not known when people will be allowed back into the North Terminal.

A spokesman for the airport said the terminal's landside area was evacuated as a "precautionary measure".

"As part of this precautionary measure roads in the immediate proximity to the airport have been closed," he said.

"Passengers due to arrive into the North Terminal will be arriving into the South Terminal.

Passengers wait in the rain outside the airport. Pic: Tim Unwin

"Landside passengers who were already onsite in the North Terminal are being looked after in nearby hotels.

"Passengers due to fly from the North Terminal should contact their airline for the latest information."

Sky's Amber de Botton, at the airport, said all easyJet flights up until 2.10pm are not taking off, and people have been told to go home and rebook.

"There is a large crowd just outside Gatwick train station, they're just being told to stay put. And there is one guy with a megaphone trying to keep people informed about what's going on," she said.

"People are starting to get fed up. Some are giving up and going home.

"Information is hard to come by - we just know no-one is being allowed into the north terminal following reports of a suspect package."

Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK terror threat level remains "severe", but said the Paris bloodshed will prompt a review of security measures.