A call to police to say a bomb had been planted at Elme Hall Hotel, Wisbech, was a hoax.
The incident, however, prompted a cordon to be round the hotel and all neighbouring properties to be evacuated.
Cambridgeshire Police said they were called at 1.53pm on Sunday to the hotel.
“There had been a report that a bomb was going to go off at the location,” said a spokesperson.
“A cordon was put on with the hotel and all the surrounding buildings were evacuated.
“It is believed this was a hoax call and no such devices were found’
Police and the fire service were quickly on the scene and Morrisons in Elm High Road and neighbouring B&M and B&Q were among the buildings affected.
Staff at the stores said they were told to stay outside until the incident was over.
One customer of B&Q said an announcement was made over the tannoy asking everyone to leave.
A major police and fire services operation was carried out.
Sniffer dogs were used at the hotel to check for devices.
The incident was later taken over by Norfolk police.
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