Tri-Service

Army Experts Finish Work On 550lb Unexploded WWII Bomb

Military personnel have made an unexploded Second World War bomb safe and removed it from the area where it was found.

The bomb caused businesses and homes in East London to be evacuated, but residents have now been allowed back into their homes.

The device, which is believed to have been dropped over London during German bombing raids in the early 1940s, was discovered on a Bethnal Green building site.

It was described as having the capacity to "cause mass destruction" if detonated.

It lay undisturbed deep in the ground for 70 years but was unearthed on Monday afternoon, with military personnel working through the night to stabilise and defuse it. An Army spokesperson said during the defusal work:

"We can confirm that a specialist military bomb disposal team from 11 EOD Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps are on site in Bethnal Green and are assisting the police with the ongoing incident involving a WWII German aircraft bomb.

"As with previous incidents, it is important that people follow any advice given by the police."

The military EOD teams have extensive experience with these situations, having operated in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.

Unexploded device discovered in #Bethnal Green https://t.co/ot0ARQGGbY pic.twitter.com/dI3Mo6zHYG
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) August 10, 2015

Police were called in after the device was found by contractors working in Temple Street, with local people evacuated as a "safety precaution".

Tower Hamlets Council, meanwhile, set up a rest centre at a local school for those who had been evacuated - with dozens of families spending the night there. A council spokesperson said:

"We have been made aware that an unexploded World War Two bomb has been uncovered at a building site in Bethnal Green – at the junction of Temple Street and Old Bethnal Green Road. The surrounding area is currently cordoned off to pedestrians and traffic.

"We are taking the advice of the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade and will follow the council’s emergency planning procedure to ensure residents and visitors to the borough are kept safe.

"Residents and visitors are advised to avoid this area. We have set up a rest centre in a local school with a full Rest Centre Team enroute to the school. Further information will follow in due course."

Motorists were advised to use alternative routes to avoid the area where possible, with "significant traffic disruption" expected.

The roads around the site were also shut off, with Hackney Road and Bethnal Green Road affected.

WW2 #bomb found by builders in basement of house in #TempleSt #BethnalGreen #CambridgeHeath - the army are coming! pic.twitter.com/aVR6Q7Ddy9
— alex (@alexjgeorgiou) August 10, 2015

Transport for London, meanwhile, said buses in the area had been put on diversion:

Routes 26 48 55 are diverted eastbound in Hackney Green Road E2 due to a police incident.
— TfL Bus Alerts (@TfLBusAlerts) August 10, 2015

It comes after a number of similar incidents in recent months, with an unexploded shell causing the evacuation of Westfield Shopping Centre in Shepherds Bush, as well as scares caused by devices in Wembley and Bermondsey, near Tower Bridge.