A hospital lockdown this morning was not related to a baby being stolen it has emerged.

Hundreds of people were unable to enter or leave any part of Epsom Hospital for around an hour while police and hospital staff investigated a security threat.

Rumours spread that it related to anything from a bomb scare to a baby being snatched.

The trust initially refused to make any comment about the nature of the threat, save to say that it turned out not to be "credible".

But it later tweeted: "It has been suggested that the incident at Epsom Hospital today was in relation to a baby being stolen. This is definitely not the case."

Despite claims that people let out of the building at around 10am were not allowed back in for some time, a hospital spokesman said the lockdown only lasted from 9.15am to 10am and no one had been evacuated.

He said the hospital was working with police to trace the person who made the threat, adding: "Everything is back to normal at the location."

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