Old Trafford suspect device 'signed for' by security firm

The suspect device which led to the abandonment of Sunday's game at Old Trafford had been wrongly accounted for by a security firm carrying out an exercise at the stadium, the club said.

The match between Manchester United and Bournemouth was called off after the item was discovered close to kick-off.

"We could not have assumed it was a training exercise error," said United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

"Presented with the same situation in the future, we'd take the same action."

Woodward explained the item had been signed for "as having been recovered" and added he is "proud of how our staff responded" to the incident.

Greater Manchester mayor Tony Lloyd, who is also the police and crime commissioner, has called for a full inquiry into the "fiasco".

Manchester United said the device in question had been used by a contractor conducting a security exercise on Wednesday to train dog handlers.

Despite being signed off at the conclusion of the exercise, the device was left in a toilet in the north-west quadrant of the ground.

More to follow.