HUNDREDS of people were evacuated from Enfield Town this morning after a bomb scare in a coffee shop.

The “suspicious package”, thought to be a suitcase, was found inside Cafe Nero, in Church Street, at 8.30am this morning, near Enfield Market.

READ MORE: Live coverage of Enfield Town bomb scare

Police evacuated people from the area and the suitcase was destroyed by a bomb squad in a controlled explosion after 10am.

READ MORE: Details emerge about bomb scare in Enfield Town

Detectives say it was a false alarm and there was no bomb inside the suitcase.

People were allowed back inside at 10.30am as cordons were removed, while Caffe Nero reopened at around 11am.

Pani Apostolou, who works in the Enfield Independent’s office in London Road, Enfield, said: “We heard a controlled explosion that sounded like a bomb.

“It wasn’t ridiculously loud, it didn’t shake the windows but there was definitely a bang.”

Despite the chaos, Terrence Marritt, manager of the market, said that the stall holders were not frightened after being evacuated.

He said: “We just opened up as normal this morning. Then the briefcase was found, police cordoned off one area, then pushed us further back until the entire market was cordoned off.

“We heard the controlled explosion, then we’ve all been allowed back in. We just want to get back on with it.

“Most of the traders here were laughing and joking about it. They all knew it was probably nothing. It is a little strange when you’re not expecting something like this, but really we are not too affected by it.”

Nobody was injured in the explosion.

Judith Cornfoot, who lives in Enfield, was standing by the barrier waiting to see the outcome of the scare with her husband, Brian.

She said: “It’s very worrying, it seems like you can’t go anywhere any more without something like this. People are very concerned, we have had quite a few elderly people come up to us and ask what is happening.”

The pavement and windows outside Caffe Nero were covered in coloured paper, although it is not clear whether this came from the suitcase.

The manager of the store, who did not wish to be named, said that although she was shocked by the events, she was glad everything was now “fine”.

Europe is on high alert after terror attacks in Paris last week, where 129 people were killed in shootings and bomb explosions at a concert hall, a restaurant and a sports stadium.

In a statement, Caffe Nero said: "The safety of our teams and customers are our priority, and the team in Enfield acted swiftly in ensuring the correct measures were taken."

The Metropolitan Police did not provide a comment.