Unexploded Nazi bomb sparks evacuation of 1,000 homes in Plymouth

An unexploded Second World War bomb which was found at a building site will be detonated in situ, officials have confirmed.

More than 1,000 homes have been evacuated as a precaution following the discovery in Flamborough Road, Southway, Plymouth.

Plymouth City Council said a 400-metre cordon remained in force and military experts have concluded the device – identified as a 250kg German SC250 – cannot be moved.

“Royal Navy and Army unexploded ordnance specialists have now completed a rigorous and detailed assessment of the device,” a council spokesman said.

“They have advised that it is not possible to safely remove it.

“The only safe option is to make the device safe in situ, which will involve a controlled detonation.

“This is planned to take place on Friday, once all safety measures are fully in place.”

The council said specialists were building a “sand mitigation structure” to reduce the impact of the blast.

“You will not be able to see the detonation and people are asked to stay well away from the area,” the spokesman said. “A no-fly zone is also in place – drones are not permitted.”

The 400-metre cordon remains in place and residents will not be able to return home until the device has been made safe.

Southway Youth and Community Centre has been opened for use by evacuated residents.

Since it opened more than 50 residents have been helped and 25 households placed in temporary accommodation.

Oakwood Primary School, Little Acorns Pre-School and Beechwood Primary School will remain closed on Friday.

Colonel Nick Handy, from 8 Engineer Brigade, said the condition of the fuses in the bomb made it impossible to move it safely.

“Unfortunately we cannot get a definitive X-ray of the second fuse and therefore it is not safe to move that item,” Col Handy said.

“We are going to blow it in situ.

“When I say blow it in situ, we are going to try our hardest to deflagrate that item and burn it inside of a structure which will limit the damage to the local surroundings.

“I am pretty confident that the mitigation that we put up will limit most of the damage, but we will look to do that at some point on Friday.”

Col Handy said the device contained 130kg of explosives “that is 80 years old and it’s dangerous”.

“When that thing goes bang for want of a better expression, there will be damage,” he said.

“We will limit that as much as possible to ensure that nobody suffers.

“The mitigation that we put in place should affect only small amounts of damage on the outer extremities of the area.” There were more than 50 Luftwaffe air raids on Plymouth between 1941 and 1944, killing 1,174 civilians in the city.

The first bombs fell on the city on July 6 1940, with the heaviest period of bombing occurring in March and April 1941.

Two years ago a 500kg German Second World War bomb was found in a garden in the Keyham area of Plymouth. It forced the evacuation of thousands of people and was detonated at sea.