A 'SUSPICIOUS' package was discovered on a guided bus in Atherton this morning.

Laura Hallows says she was travelling on a V2 Vantage bus at 8.50am when a passenger informed the driver that a large red duffer bag had been left on the top deck.

The bus had come from Manchester, where a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured dozens more on Monday night in a terror attack that has seen the UK threat level placed at the highest possible rating of critical.

Laura, from Atherton, said: "There were only four of us on the bus at the time but we were all saying how worrying it was after what has happened in Manchester this week.

“The bus driver went to investigate the bag before returning to his seat and reporting the incident to someone on his radio.

"He said to the person he was talking to that the bag was not hidden in any way and looked suspicious.

“The man on the line told him he would call the police who may have to call the bomb squad.

“We all got off at the last stop in Atherton shortly afterwards but the bus did not follow the usual route after that, so it looked like the driver had been instructed to take it off the road.”

Laura said the man who told the driver about the bag did so as he was getting off the bus by Atherton Baptist Church.

Carl Oliver, Bolton operations manager at Vantage bus operators First Manchester, said: “The bag was left on a V2 service.

"The driver acted very professionally and followed all the correct procedures to establish this was a lost property item.

"The police were not called upon and the service continued with no disruption for customers.

"We hope to able to reunite our customer with the bag as soon as possible.”

Police are urging residents to continue to be vigilant.