UXO News Roundup, 09/09/2024
On the 9th August, police were called to the discovery of an unexploded grenade by workmen in a field next to the A167, Chester-Le-Street, Co. Durham. A section of the A167 was closed and an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team called to attend the scene. The device, whose exact origins have not been confirmed, was destroyed in a controlled explosion.
See: Chester-le-Street bomb squad LIVE: Road reopens after grenade safely detonated – Chronicle Live
On 15th August, West Mercia Police attended the discovery of an item of suspected unexploded ordnance by a landscaper working in a garden on Stephenson Road, Barbourne, on the outskirts of Worcester. The device – reported by West Mercia Police as a suspected WWII UXB, but believed to be a suspected shell – was removed by an EOD team to an undisclosed location for safe disposal.
Image Credits: Worcester News, courtesy of Paul PJ
See: Stephenson Road closed off because of unexploded ‘bomb’ | Worcester News
On 15th August, an unexploded 500kg air-dropped SC500 German bomb was discovered by workmen on the Rivenwood housing development in Newtownards, in County Down. The device was destroyed in a controlled explosion on the 20th August.
See Zetica’s coverage of the incident as it unfolded at:
German UXB Discovered in Newtownards, County Down | Zetica UXO
Newtownards UXB Detonated in Controlled Explosion | Zetica UXO
The History Behind the Newtownards Unexploded Bomb | Zetica UXO
On 20th August, Poole Coastguard received reports of an item of suspected unexploded ordnance being discovered off a private jetty on Gardens Road in Lilliput, Poole.
A Royal Navy EOD team attended the scene on the afternoon of August 20th, but the device was covered by the incoming tide. It was removed safely early on the morning of 21st August for disposal in Portsmouth.
The device has been identified by the Royal Navy as an unexploded ‘Stokes mortar round’, but the exact origins have yet to be confirmed.
Image Credits: Dorset Echo, courtesy of Poole Coastguard
On Sunday 25th August, HM Coastguard received reports of a ‘suspected bomb’ having washed up on Beer Beach, on the south coast of Devon. A cordon was established and a Royal Navy EOD team called to attend the scene, but the device – believed to be a WWII-era shell – was washed out by the tide before their arrival.
Image Credits: BBC News, courtesy of HM Coastguard
See: Suspected bomb on Beer beach washed out by tide – BBC News
On the morning of August 27th, a potato processing plant in Weasenham Lane, Wisbech, was evacuated following the discovery of a ‘suspected wartime bomb’. Officers from Cambridgeshire Police attended the scene and established a 200m cordon. An EOD team from Nottingham examined the device and confirmed its identification as the inactive nose cone of a WWII-era practice bomb. It was later removed and the cordon was lifted.
Image Credits: BBC News, courtesy of Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
See: Chips are down as WW2 ‘bomb’ found in Wisbech potato plant – BBC News
