UCLA evacuated after bomb threat is phoned in just hours after Manchester United finish training there

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Manchester United are training as normal at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on Thursday despite a bomb scare that forced the site to be evacuated overnight.

The emergency services swept into action shortly after 10pm local time when a threat was made by phone to the UCLA campus police station.

Students from more than a dozen halls of residence took refuge in Drake Stadium where United have been training this week before they were given the all-clear to return to their rooms about two hours and 20 minutes later after police with sniffer dogs declared the area safe.

Manchester United captain Michael Carrick (left) leads his team in training on Wednesday

(L-R) Eric Bailly, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Chris Smalling warm up at Drake Stadium

Jose Mourinho and his players are staying several miles away at The Montage hotel in Beverley Hills and were not directly involved in the incident, but it is bound to raise concerns over their stay in California.

United are training at UCLA every day this week and are due to return there after playing Real Salt Lake in Utah and Manchester City in Houston.

Mourinho has often chosen the same facilities in LA during his time in charge of Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

Indeed, Sportsmail reported on Wednesday that United have managed to secure the best pitch at Drake Stadium after a series of squabbles with Madrid who are also training here.

However the pictures of young people – some aged between eight and 12 who are on summer courses at UCLA – seeking safety and shelter inside the very stadium where they have been training under tight security since Monday will alarm United staff.

It is just over a year since a game against Bournemouth was called off after a pipe bomb was found in one of the toilets at Old Trafford in April 2016 which was later discovered to be a dummy device left by mistake during a security exercise.

United insiders confirmed that the squad will to continue to take part in double training sessions at Drake Stadium on Thursday. The club have even had a temporary pool installed so the players can relax on campus between sessions rather than travelling back to their hotel in heavy local traffic.

However, it remains to be seen if the bomb scare affects their plans or leads to heightened security as they prepare for the opening tour game against LA Galaxy at the StubHub Center in the early hours of Sunday morning.