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The discovery of a suspicious package has led to the evacuation of the Isle of Man's post office headquarters.

An item was found at the sorting office on the Spring Valley industrial estate in Douglas shortly before 09:00 GMT.

The building will remain closed "until further notice" so that UK specialists can be brought in to "safely dispose" of the package, police said.

The majority of the island's postal deliveries and collections have been cancelled as a result.

Police said they were unable to confirm the level of threat the item may pose until it had been assessed by the specialists, who were due to travel to the island.

Simon Kneen, from Isle of Man Post Office, said staff had been asked to stay out of the building by police.

He added: "We're awaiting advice on what service we'll be able to provide tomorrow morning but we're not expecting any airmail to leave the island tonight."

Postal staff working at the building have been sent home for the rest of the day.

Pete Johnson, who works at the nearby Graylaw Freight Group depot, said he could see staff and police outside the building but had not been told what was going on.

"They were milling around and about a couple of hours later a lot of the staff were heading to the car park to their cars and driving away," he said.

"The whole place is taped off and looks all quiet and empty."