A BOMB disposal unit is dealing with a suspicious package reported at a plant where the AstraZeneca vaccine is produced, The Leader reports.

Police have put a cordon in place near the Wockhardt plant at Wrexham industrial estate and the public have been asked to stay away.

A spokesperson for North Wales Police said: "We are currently dealing with an ongoing incident on the Wrexham Industrial Estate.

"The roads are currently closed and we would ask the public to avoid the area until further notice."

The factory which has the capacity to produce 300 million doses of the vaccine a year for distribution around the UK is currently closed off.

In a statement, the company which operates the site and is a supply partner for AstraZeneca, Wockhardt UK, said the estate has been partially evacuated while experts investigate the package.

It said: "Wockhardt UK in Wrexham this morning received a suspicious package.

“Relevant authorities have responded and upon expert advice we have partially evacuated the site pending a full investigation.

“The safety of our employees and business continuity remain of paramount importance."

The industrial estate is considered a sensitive site given its role in the UK’s Covid vaccination rollout.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the site in November last year describing the lab as a “salvation for humainity”.

Mr Johnson said: "This could, if we're lucky, if everything goes right - be available just in a few weeks.

"This could - and I stress could - really be the salvation for humanity, these vaccines, not just this one but obviously all the vaccines that are currently being developed."