Plymouth bomb scare as residents evacuated after WW2 explosive found in garden
A major incident has been declared with residents in Plymouth evacuated from their homes after a World War two explosive was found in a garden.
Police were called to a house in St Michael Avenue, Keyham, Devon, shortly after 10.30am. Officers set up a 200m cordon in response to the incident this morning. The Royal Navy's bomb disposal team also rushed to the scene. Cops issued a warning to other nearby residents about the explosive and told residents that they could seek further help at the local library.
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said: "Officers are currently at a property in St Michael Avenue in where suspected WW2 ordnance has been found. There is a cordon in place and some properties are being evacuated. Please avoid the area at this time and we'll provide more information when we can." The local police team tried to reassure residents and said: "Officers are working hard to keep you safe. Anyone needing shelter following evacuation advice can get it at North Prospect Library."
One local, who lives on the same street as the incident, explained how they were urged to leave their home. They said: "We've been told to leave our homes - all the residents in St Aubyn Avenue. Police are out knocking on doors telling people there's been a bomb found. They've closed off the lane behind our road. Apparently it's an old World War Two bomb."
A 200m cordon was set up shortly after 10.30am (PLYMOUTH LIVE/BPM MEDIA)The person who found the bomb has since been identified as a father. He said he was helping his daughter dig out the rear yard of her home with a builder, with the hopes of preparing the ground for an extension. He revealed that he first found the bomb "about a week ago" when he hit it with a spade.
Tragedy as 13-month-old boy dies after the stolen car he was in crashed
He told PlymouthLive: "We've been digging out for the foundations for an extension. Every time we reached what we thought was hard ground the rain would come and we'd find we had to keep digging down. We actually found it about a week ago. It was just outside the building line and the building inspector said we needed trench of around 650mm. I hit something with a spade but we weren't sure what it was at first. Since then we've had so much rain, the bank collapsed, then there was more rain on Friday and it's been revealed more and more.
"It's about one metre long and half a metre in diameter. We've found a cap and a round circle thread sheared off or broke off. By this point my wife said we really should just call the police and alert them. I took photos and sent them off and a sergeant in Exeter rang me five minutes saying he needed to send them off to EOD. Five minutes later there's a knock on the door and police officers asking to have a look. The next minute they're suggesting a cordon with a 200m radius.
"I've been looking at the Plymouth Bombs Map and found red dogs around St Michael Avenue area, so there were certainly bombs dropped in this area during the war. At last count I saw 15 or 16 police cars around the area and it looks like a major incident. EOD have already arrived and lots of the local residents have been told to leave their homes."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
