Literally tens of thousands of people have been affected by this Police spokesman

A spokeswoman for Manchester Royal Infirmary, where victims were taken, said all but one of them had minor wounds caused mostly by flying glass, and were suffering from shock.

A telephone warning of other devices forced police to evacuate the whole of the city centre of shoppers and order office workers to remain indoors - causing widespread disruption.

"The whole of central Manchester is now deserted," said a police spokeswoman.

"Literally tens of thousands of people have been affected by this.''

No one has admitted carrying out the blasts, but it is suspected to be the work of the IRA.

The force of the first explosion caused structural damage and shattered windows in a number of offices in St Mary's Parsonage, behind the Deansgate shopping precinct.

Church refuge

Three office buildings - Cardinal House, Albert Bridge House and Arkwright House - were damaged when the bomb exploded behind Kendal's, a House of Fraser department store.

Eighty-five minutes later the second bomb went off in Cateaton Street between the cathedral and Market Place.

It smashed the face of the cathedral clock and shattered Victorian stained glass windows in the building.

Manchester Cathedral was providing refuge for hundreds of people moved out of Deansgate.

A year ago, IRA firebombs exploded in Manchester's Arndale Centre.

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