Police believe explosives found in an industrial area in Oamaru this morning have been there for a while.
Part of an industrial area has been cordoned off and an explosives team is on the way there after a substance was found in a scrapyard.
The suspected explosive substance was discovered in a bucket at Everitt Enterprises in Industrial Place mid morning.
Manager Sean Everitt said a staff member called police after finding the substance while clearing an area.
The police had set up 300m cordons around the scrap yard, and an army explosives team was en route from Burnham, near Christchurch.
All trains scheduled to pass through the area had been stopped, with one freight train travelling from Christchurch to Dunedin held up in Timaru.
