A window cleaner was left red-faced after he sparked a bomb scare when he popped to the pub for a drink on his round and left his BUCKET unattended.
Robin Baxter, 54, left his bright blue box outside a bookies while he had a cuppa at 10.45am on Tuesday (12/8).
But worried passers-by called police fearing the plastic bucket could be a terrorist bomb.
Officers rushed to the scene on blue flashing lights and coned off the suspicious area in Lichfield, Staffs.
They then investigated the bucket but realised it was just a false alarm when they took the lid off and saw the soapy water inside.
Incredibly, Robin was sipping a coffee inside the Acorn Inn pub over the road completely unaware of the drama unfolding outside.
The window cleaner, whose company is ironically called Complete Panes, said: “I fancied a coffee and nipped in to the Acorn. I wasn’t going to be long so I left my bucket outside.
“I was in there for about 15 minutes and when I left a guy I know, who was in the bookies, told me what had happened.
“He said: ‘You’re in for a right rollicking from the police‘.
“Apparently a police car on blue flashing lights had come down the street and parked up next to my bucket.
“They coned off the area while an officer tentatively checked it out. He was pretty relieved when he took the lid off and saw water and my cleaning utensils inside.
“I can’t believe my bucket caused a bomb scare. My mistake was to leave the lid on.”
Robin, who lives in Lichfield, apologised for any inconvenience caused and said he is going to take more care in the future
He added: “I have been asked by people if the Serious Grime Squad turned up.
“But I know the police have more important matters to deal with than checking out my bucket.
“I’m sorry if it has caused an inconvenience. I think the city centre CCTV monitors may have spotted my bucket and alerted the police. It just goes to show how sharp they are.
“But I suppose in the current climate people are looking out for unattended items and the police reacted quickly.”
Staffordshire Police confirmed officers attended after being alerted to the bucket by an eagle-eyed resident.
A spokeswoman said: “A police car was flagged down by a member of the public who alerted officers to the unattended bucket.
“The officers went and checked out the bucket and discovered it was full of water.
“The incident was dealt with very quickly. No roads were closed.”
* It is not the first time that Robin has hit the headlines for his window cleaning escapades.
Two decades ago he had to be rescued by firefighters after getting stuck on the top of a four storey-high roof when his ladder fell over.
