Plymouth World War Two discovery blown up in controlled explosion

Specialists from the Royal Navy have safely carried out a controlled explosion in Plymouth after a device from World War II was found on a building site.

Some schools had to shut and hundreds of people had to leave their homes for safety.

A 400 metre cordon, or barrier at safe distance, was put in place around the old bomb while officials assessed the situation and over 1,200 homes were evacuated.

Plymouth City Council say the cordon was a precautionary measure and there is no immediate risk to the wider public.

Overall 1,250 homes, two primary schools and a pre-school were affected.

People stayed with friends and family until they are able to get back to their homes.

The Royal Navy's unexploded ordnance specialists assessed the device with specialist X-ray equipment but it didn't give a clear picture of what's going on inside the device.

That's why a controlled explosion was carried out on Friday to safely dispose of the bomb.

The council provided "large quantities" of sand to help build a structure around it to limit the blast.

It's rare to find an unexploded bomb nowadays, but it does occasionally happen.

Plymouth saw 59 bombing raids in World War II and official records estimate at least 2,820 bombs were dropped on the city.

It's also estimated around 10% of those didn't detonate, which is why they are sometimes found today.

Often, specialists will try to move them out to sea to blow them up to take it as far away from people and buildings as possible.

If they can't do that, the area will be made as safe as possible to limit the damage from the explosion.

Colonel Nick Handy was the senior explosives officer leading the operation. He said:

"A lot of people say 'Well it's been in the ground for 80 years, what's the problem with it?'

"The simple reason is, the fuses are the thing that makes it go bang.

"Unfortunately we cannot get a definitive X-ray of the second fuse and therefore it's not safe to move that item.

"I'm pretty confident that the mitigation that we put up will limit most of the damage."

An evacuation centre was set up for people who were unable to find somewhere else to stay.

One mum told BBC News her 11-year-old was "quite excited" by the incident.

She said: "He is having his own little World War Two story. It's quite the adventure for him."

Pets were also welcome at the evacuation centre.

They welcomed dogs, cats, a rabbit, guinea pig and a parrot called Frodo.