UXO News Roundup, 24/03/25
The news earlier this month was dominated by the discovery of a WWII UXB in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, but several other UXO discoveries closer to home have been reported so far in March.
KENT
On 2nd March, Kent Police were called to reports of an item of suspected Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) by a metal detectorist in fields outside Kemsing, near Sevenoaks.
An Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team attended the scene and the device – reported as a WWII-era rifle grenade, though unconfirmed – was relocated to land in the village of Otford, where it was destroyed in a controlled explosion.
See: WW2 grenade detonated by bomb squad in Otford – BBC News
On the morning of 13th March, Kent Police were alerted to the discovery of an item of suspected UXO, which had been exposed by workmen digging a garden on Kirby Road in Stone, near Dartford. A cordon was established and homes evacuated, before an Army EOD team attended the scene. The device was safely removed later in the afternoon. Its exact nature has yet to be confirmed.
HAMPSHIRE
On the same day, in Hampshire, an item of suspected UXO was recovered by a magnet fisherman from the River Itchen at Woodmill, near Southampton.
Cordons were established by Hampshire Police and an EOD team attended the scene. The device –exact nature yet to be confirmed – was removed and the cordon was later lifted.
See: Southampton magnet fisherman pulls suspected ordnance from river – BBC News
On the 10th March, an EOD team was called to Calshot, in Hampshire, after a child discovered an item of suspected UXO on the beach. The device – a suspected shell – was later removed.
See: New Forest: Child finds unexploded ordnance on Calshot beach | Daily Echo
SCOTLAND
On 11th March, Scottish Police were called to Renfrew after an item of suspected UXO was discovered on Meadowside Street. An EOD team attended the incident and the device – whose identification has not yet been confirmed – was destroyed in a controlled explosion.
‘Controlled explosion’ carried out after ‘munition’ found | Glasgow Times
On Wednesday 12th March, emergency services were called to a retail park on Edgar Road in Elgin, Scotland, following the discovery of an item of suspected UXO in the car park.
An EOD team attended the scene and the device – reported as ‘an old training mortar’, though identification has not been confirmed – was removed.
See: Bomb squad remove ‘unexploded ordnance device’ from Asda car park in Elgin | STV News
On 17th March, Scottish Police were called to Wanlock Head, Dumfries and Galloway, after an item of suspected UXO was discovered in the river.
The device – believed to have been a WWII-era mortar round, was destroyed by an EOD team the following morning in a controlled explosion.
Above: 2” High Explosive (HE) mortar round, similar to the device discovered at Wanlock Head (©Zetica Ltd.)
GREATER MANCHESTER
On 13th March, Greater Manchester Police and an Army EOD team were called to a residential street in Trafford, following the discovery of a suspected hand grenade. The device – confirmed as an ‘old hand grenade which had become filled with water’ – was later deemed not to be viable and safely removed.
See: Bomb disposal units tape off residential street and evacuate homes after ‘grenade found’
DEVON
On 16th March, Devon and Cornwall Police and HM Coastguard attended reports of an item of suspected UXO being discovered on the waterfront towards the end of Pound Street, Plymouth. An EOD team attended the scene, but were unable to assess the device, which had been covered by the rising tide. Further updates have yet to be issued.
See: LIVE: Suspicious object found by Plymouth waterfront – Devon Live
