MORE than 200 postal workers at Tonbridge's Vale Road sorting office were held in temporary quarantine last night after a chemical scare.

It was sparked off when staff found a packet containing white powder which had spilled open in a sorting machine.

Four sorters closest to the package were segregated into an office and isolated and other workers were detained in the car park as a major emergency plan was put into action.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service sent two supervisory officers to investigate and they immediately called in crews weearing protective suits and deploying decontamination equipment.

An incident response unit from Ashford and and incident support unit from Strood joined local fire crews and police in containing the incident until the mystery powder could be analysed.

The powder, which at first had to be treated as potentially toxic, was eventually found to be harmless. Emergency services were at the scene for several hours until the all clear was given.

It was the second such incident at the Tonbridge sorting office in recent weeks.