UPDATE: Police have now revealed that the incident was sparked by the report of a possible suspicious package.

Police were today dealing with a serious incident near York College in the Tadcaster Road area of the city.

North Yorkshire Police said shortly after 6pm today (Wednesday) that a cordon was in place and the road was currently closed between York College and the Tesco roundabout.

Members of the public were advised to avoid the area.

Witnesses earlier told The Press that several police vans had been seen near York College in Sim Balk Lane, Bishopthorpe.

And they said students had been evacuated.

York Press: Police outside York College todayPolice outside York College today (Image: supplied)

Tesco at Askham Bar was also understood to have been evacuated.

One witness described seeing numerous police vehicles, firefighters and a police helicopter at the scene.

York College tonight tweeted that it was closed due to "unforeseen circumstances".

READ MORE: York College issues update on serious police incident

An eye-witness who works at the college said: “The fire alarm went off at just before 5pm, and so we all did the normal fire drill.

“Then a police van and the fire brigade arrived and we were all ushered further back.

“There were about half a dozen police pursuing a couple of young men in the field behind. Nobody knew what was going on. It was all pretty confused.”

The witness said earlier in the afternoon there had been an emergency services drill on Knavesmire.

At first, he thought what happened was an extension of that.

“But judging by the way everybody was being ushered away, I think it was something else,” he said.

North Yorkshire Police tweeted at 6.12pm today that emergency services were dealing with an incident in Tadcaster Road.

They said: "A cordon is in place and the road is currently closed in both directions between York College and the Tesco roundabout. Members of the public are advised to avoid the area."

First York tonight tweeted that bus services were being affected by the incident.

Cllr Stephen Fenton, who represents Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward, said that he believed the Tesco store at Askham Bar and York College had been evacuated.

He said: "There has been a lot of police activity around York College. 

"A further confusing factor is that there was a police exercise at the race course earlier today. But I really don't think this is part of that exercise."

Coastliner tweeted at 7.12pm that its bus services had also been affected by the ongoing incident.