Police cordoned off areas this week after being alerted to suspicious packages in a public place.

The items were located in the car park off Fereneze Road in Neilston and led to this area and Barrhead Police Office being sealed off on Wednesday evening.

A heavy emergency services presence was spotted in Bank Street in Barrhead, where the police office is situated, during this time including police vans and fire engines.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 5pm on Wednesday, October 2, we received a report of suspicious packages in a car park off Fereneze Road in Neilston.

“This area and Barrhead Police Office were cordoned off as a precaution whilst a joint investigation with SFRS (Scottish Fire and Rescue Service) into the contents of the packages took place.

“The contents of the packages were tested and found to have a non-harmful substance, and it was safe for the packages to be removed and destroyed

“Barrhead (Police) Office, Bank Street and the car park at Fereneze Road are now open to access.”

An SFRS spokesperson added: “We were alerted at 6.43pm on Wednesday, October 2 to reports of a suspicious package near to Bank Street, Barrhead.

“Operations Control mobilised three fire appliances and specialist resources to the scene.

“Firefighters assessed the contents of packages which were found to be non-hazardous.

“There were no reported casualties and crews left after ensuring the area was made safe.”

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) also attended later on in the evening.

An SAS spokesperson said: “We received a call at 8.04pm on October 2 to attend an incident on Bank Street, Barrhead.

"One special operations response team (SORT) was dispatched to the scene and no patients travelled to hospital.”