Three Lions pub Bristol: Landlord says police ‘stormed in’ as pub was evacuated in major incident

The landlord of The Three Lions pub in Bedminster has told the BBC he thought reports of suspicious packages at his pub were initially a joke. At 12.40pm today (October 9), police were called to the pub in West Street after receiving the alert.

A major incident was declared and the pub, along with nearby homes, were evacuated as a search operation was launched with more than a dozen officers called to the scene and a 50 metre exclusion zone for the public put in place.

Later, shortly after 4pm, the situation was downgraded to a critical incident, but still the cordon remained up tonight as searches continued. Near to the scene, The Three Lions pub landlord Sean Donnelly could be seen with police.

Speaking earlier to the BBC, he told a reporter that he initially thought the situation was a joke. He added: “A police officer rang up and said we had to evacuate.

“Then all of a sudden the police stormed in and we all had to get out. They put drones up and sniffer dogs have gone in, and we’re waiting on an army sniffer dog to search the site.”

Mr Donnelly is well-known in the city having stood for mayor in 2021. His pub is also a noteable home for Bristol City fans, and holds an annual Flag Day which seens fans bring flags and parade the local streets.

Earlier this year he featured in our Legends of Bristol series.

But this afternoon, rather than serving pints of Thatchers to customers, he was stood outside his pub while police searched the area.

A statement issued by Avon and Somerset Police said: “Emergency services are attending an incident at a pub in West Street, Bedminster. Police were called to The Three Lions at 12:40pm after receiving reports of suspicious packages being left at the site.

“As a precaution, people have been evacuated from the pub and some nearby properties. A 50m cordon has been put in place and we’d ask members of the public to avoid the area at this time.”

Just after 5.30pm, the force posted on Twitter: “Searches of the area are continuing at the moment. Our number one priority is public safety and the cordon will remain in place until those searches are completed. We will continue to provide updates on the situation via this thread.”