A MAN who hit a suspected WW2 bomb with a spade said he found it about a week ago.
Homes have been evacuated and the Royal Navy’s bomb squad called in after police declared a major incident in Plymouth.
BPMHomes are being evacuated after the discovery of a suspected World War Two era bomb[/caption]
The man, who Plymouth Live is not identifying, said he was helping dig up the back garden of his daughter’s home to prepare it for an extension.
He said the object is about one metre long and half a metre in diameter and as soil washed away in the rain, found part of it had broken off.
He said: “By this point my wife said we really should just call the police and alert them.
“We actually found it about a week ago. It was just outside the building line and the building inspector said we needed trench of around 650mm.
“I hit something with a spade but we weren’t sure what it was at first. Since then we’ve had so much rain, the bank collapsed, then there was more rain on Friday and it’s been revealed more and more.”
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The man said he took photos of the object and sent them to police, who showed up 10 minutes later asking to take a look.
They quickly decided to put in place the cordon with a 200m radius and evacuate nearby residents from their homes.
The man said he had been looking at the Plymouth Bombs Map and found red dots marking where bombs had been dropped around St Michael Avenue.
The Royal Navy’s bomb disposal team are currently at the site along with over a dozen police cars.
Officers were called to a property in St Michael Avenue, Keyham, Devon, just after 10.30am.
Police are also warning other nearby residents nearby they have found the explosive.
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said: “Officers are currently at a property in St Michael Avenue Plymouth where a suspected WW2 ordnance has been found. There is a cordon in place and some properties are being evacuated. Please avoid the area at this time and we’ll provide more information when we can.”
Anyone needing shelter following the evacuation the find it at a local library.
BPMResidents in St Michael Avenue and St Aubyn Avenue are currently being alerted by police[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
