‘Suspected wartime bomb’ Closes Railway in South Wales
Bridgend Station (courtesy of Dai Lygad, under CC license)
Railway passengers in South Wales suffered delays yesterday (23rd October) following closure of the lines between Cardiff and Swansea, after a ‘suspected wartime bomb’ was discovered on a building site in Cheapside, Bridgend.
See: Bridgend: Trains delayed after suspected bomb found on building site – BBC News
This is not the first time that Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) discoveries have been made in the Cheapside area.
Back in July 2025, 2No. ‘unexploded ordnance devices’ – the exact nature of which remains unconfirmed – were discovered on a nearby building site in Brackla Street, both safely removed.
See: Unexploded devices discovered in Bridgend town centre – BBC News
Records of the Glamorgan Constabulary also indicate that an Unexploded (UX) 14lb High Explosive (HE) shell was found near the railway line at Bridgend Railway Station, Cheapside, in April 1948. The device was safely removed by military authorities.
The origins of these devices remain unclear. During WWII, Bridgend was home to Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Bridgend – one of the largest munitions filling factories in the country. Despite the factory being identified by the Luftwaffe as a strategic target in 1940, Bridgend escaped any significant bombing.
