Work Begins To Clear Grenades Found At Play Area

A £1 million removal job is underway to remove munitions from a playing field in Northamptonshire.

Weedon Bec Parish Council has been provided with £500,000 by the Ministry of Defence to pay for the clearance of grenades from the site, but the sum will not cover security of the area.

Twenty-four-hour security is required for a mound containing explosives, thought to be from the nearby Weedon Barracks.

The materials were discovered at the site in July 2016.

The firm working to clear the area say it is not uncommon for ordnance to be discovered on these type of land, and is most often of German origin from the Second World War.

Parish council chairwoman, Zoe O’Toole, said:

"I have lost hours and days of sleep over this.

The MoD says it has an "on-going commitment to remove ordnance should it be encountered".

The area is expected to be made safe by February 2018.

Cover image courtesy: Weedon Bec Parish Council/Facebook.