A FORGOTTEN rucksack prompted police to close off a section of the A1 in North Yorkshire for an hour yesterday - bringing thousands of motorists to a standstill on the hottest day of the year.

The major security alert began when the rucksack was spotted at a bus stop outside Marne Barracks near Catterick Village, home to an artillery regiment which has troops deployed in Iraq.

Police - fearing a possible terrorist attack -threw a 100 metre safety cordon around the rucksack and called in the Army Bomb Squad. The decision also meant closing both carriageways of the A1, as well as the main road through the village.

Queues quickly built up in both directions and many frustrated drivers got out of their vehicles in the stifling afternoon heat.

One woman, from Hurworth, near Darlington, who was caught up in the jam, said: "There were truck drivers standing on top of their trailers trying to see what the hold-up was.

"And lots of people also got out of their cars and were just milling about at the side of the road. It was too hot to stay inside."

The roads were re-opened at 6.05pm once the Army was satisfied the rucksack posed no threat.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "The bomb disposal squad carried out a controlled explosion and have confirmed the rucksack was harmless."