Emergency services were dispatched to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History following reports of improvised incendiary devices being thrown at the building.

Thames Valley Police confirmed that five patrol vehicles and six units from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene on Parks Road on Saturday evening, August 29.

The alert was triggered by claims that the museum was under attack with petrol bombs, though authorities later established the incident was a false alarm.

According to a force representative, no danger existed to the historic establishment or its collection of fossil specimens.

The official noted that while the response provided an unexpected opportunity to visit the museum’s exhibits, the emergency services would have preferred not to have been called out to a fabricated incident.

Officers expressed gratitude to the museum’s security team for their cooperation during the investigation.