Tri-Service

MoD Urged To Clear Grenade Mound Near Playground

A parish council has called for the Ministry of Defence to clear a mound near a play area where two hand grenades were found.

It's thought the explosives were Second World War-era waste from the nearby Weedon Barracks, in Weedon Bec, near Daventry, Northamptonshire.

The council called the bomb squad but now fears it could be facing bankruptcy after the cost of clear up spiralled to over £1 million.

They're asking the MoD to take over, arguing that Army waste is their responsibility. Chair of the council Zoe O'Toole was quoted as saying in the BBC:

"I am so frustrated. It is fair to say I've lost hours of sleep over this. Ultimately if could mean bankruptcy".

Round the clock security is costing O'Toole's council £1,680 a week, with only enough in the budget to cover another 12 weeks.

The MoD has released a statement on the issue, saying:

"Safety is of paramount importance to MoD and we are examining ways in which we may be able to provide financial support to the parish council to address possible ordnance in addition to our on-going commitment to remove ordnance should it be encountered."

Documents given to Forces TV by Weedon Council show that there have been concerns about the site going back years.

A number of older local residents report in written statements that they were aware as children that the site, called Jubilee Field (or fields), was part of a military depot.

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The mound served as a tip, with one resident saying he began work there in 1953 as a trainee armourer.

Another local, Tony Scroggins, said that he had lived nearby during and after the Second World War and that he and his friends had used the mound as a playground:

"It was well known by all of us that the material deposited there was from the Ordnance Depot and this was the fascination of playing there. We would dig into the sides of the spoil heaps to see what we could find... On one occasion, I found a grenade. We knew what grenades were and we threw it as far as we could... half expecting it to explode but it didn't."

Mr Scroggins says that on another occasion he found empty casings of what were reportedly phosphorus bombs.

An image of a shell, perhaps like the one Mr. Scroggins describes, was also provided to Forces TV.

Pictures from the site show a grenade in the dirt (left) and what appears to be a shell (right)

A report from earlier this year also states that 'The Mound' was found to have contaminants including asbestos at above safe levels, and that a contractor has been selected to remove The Mound for a total cost of £350,000.

According to the report, the site was originally used as a brickyard before passing into military hands in the 1800s.

Jubilee Fields, next to the Mound, were used as allotments between 1927 and 52, and in 1978 it was bought from the MoD for £4,000.

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The council's report states that at the time of purchase, there was no indication from the MoD that The Mound had been a waste site, and since no documentation has surfaced, the council conducted the interviews it did to get more information about the site.

Part of the disagreement with the MoD has arisen over whether it created the waste disposal site and then didn't inform Weedon Bec Parish Council when they sold them the land.