EMERGENCY services rushed to Medway Council's headquarters today after a suspicious package containing white powder was found in a mailroom.

They were called to the Civic Centre, in Strood High Street, at about 11.30am.

A spokesperson for Medway Council said: "Six members of staff who were working in the post room were kept in quarantine until the powder was identified. The building was not evacuated and we believe the substance was harmless."

The emergency services, who investigated the suspect package, later revealed that the incident was a hoax.

A spokesperson for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: "Although we did not believe that this was anything serious, we still investigated the package thoroughly using a spectrometer to help us identify what the powder was."

A spokesman for Medway Police said: "We are investigating and a criminal investigations team will be treating this incident as an offence, which has a severe penalty in law."