BOMB disposal experts were called yesterday after police discovered two suspicious packages under a car.

Police sealed part of Finchale Road, in Newton Hall, near Durham City, after a call about two items under a Vauxhall Corsa, at 10am.

Bomb disposal officers from Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, took the packages away for examination.

A police spokesman said: "One was a small bottle found to contain an as-yet unidentified liquid. The other parcel contained pieces of newspaper soaked in a liquid, again yet to be identified."

He confirmed the liquid was a suspected accelerant, but said the devices had not posed a great danger. He said: "No device was found capable of igniting or triggering the contents of the packages. Because of this, they were judged to be harmless."