Nice 'bomb' scare: Shopping centre near where England play Iceland evacuated over suspicious package

Thousands of fans cleared from mall by police armed with machine guns

The Lingostiere Centre is west of Nice, France (Google Maps)

Police armed with machine guns have evacuated thousands of people from a shopping centre in Nice near the stadium where England were due to play Iceland on Monday evening, after a suspicious package was found.

French media reported 2,000 people were cleared from the centre after two gas canisters were found.

A detonator was also reportedly found in the Lingostiere Centre, which is just 3 km (1.6 miles) away from the Allianz Riviera, where England will play tonight in their Euro 2016 match.

The canisters, usually sold for camping, were attached by wires, according to Nice Matin.

Frédéric Martinez, president of the shopping centre's trades, said the evacuation was done peacefully.

He added: "All merchants and customers escaped through emergency exits, ending up at the rallying point.

"There were a lot of people there. With the night tonight, they were worried about traffic jams."

Alpes-Maritimes Police later said the bag contained tools and was therefore a "false alarm".

Last week, Nice Airport was evacuated following the discovery of a suspicious package.

Hundreds of passengers were evacuated while the terminal building was searched.