Homes were evacuated and bomb disposal experts called in after a device was found in a village.
Police were called to Peashill Close, in Sileby, at 3.30pm yesterday and half-an-hour later began going door-to-door ordering residents to leave their homes immediately.
An Army bomb squad arrived to deal with the device but at the time of going to press there was no information about what it was.
People living in Peashill Close were not being told much about what was happening.
Steven Wakefield, 63, said: "It was a bit after 4pm, the police came round and said there had been a device found and we'd to evacuate immediately. Some people living near the top of the street were let back later so it's probably nothing huge."
Dave Lawrence, 66, said: "The police won't tell us anything."
Richard Edwards, 71, said: "There was an airfield near here during the Second World War so it's possible they've found an unexploded bomb. Police only come to this area to do traffic speed checks."
Andy Paling, a Charnwood borough councillor for Sileby, who lives nearby, said: "I've tried to get the police to tell me what's going on but they won't.
"There are a lot of residents who are very elderly and having to stay with family."
The road remained closed for more than five hours.
A police spokeswoman said: "We have an incident in Sileby and we are dealing with it."
