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Mass evacuations are underway across Devon today, with thousands of residents told to leave their homes, schools and businesses after two unexploded World War Bombs were discovered.
Exmouth and Plymouth have been brought to a standstill, with 5,000 residents evacuated from their homes.
A 400-metre cordon was set up surrouding the explosive in Exmouth after a ‘very large’ device was pulled from the water in the town’s marina yesterday.
Meanwhile a major incident was declared in Plymouth after a 50kg German WW2 bomb was found on a building site yesterday morning.
A separate 100-metre cordon is in place in the city’s Millbay area with those living nearby being ‘strongly advised to leave their homes’.
Bomb disposal teams are assisting in both locations and police have gone door-to-door telling locals to leave their homes immediately.
An unexploded World War Two bomb was discovered at a building site in Plymouth
A police cordon was set up in Plymouth after a bomb was found at a building site
Police set up a cordon in Plymouth after a World War Two bomb was found at a building site
a 400 metre cordon is in place around Exmouth Marina after a device was found during routine dredging
A local school in Exmouth offered PE kits and packed lunches to families who could not go home last night
Royal Navy bomb experts descended into Exmouth last night after the device was found during routine dredging.
A major incident was declared by police as schools and businesses were forced to close and evacuate.
Locals were told to relocate to stay with family or congregate at a nearby leisure centre
Councillor Paul Arnott, Leader of East Devon District Council, said: ‘Our teams are working closely with military specialists to ensure the device is made safe as quickly as possible, and we will provide updates as soon as we have them.
‘We understand this is an unsettling situation for local residents, and we thank everyone for their patience and cooperation.’
In Plymouth, a bomb was discovered on a building site at around 11.40am yesterday.
Residents living nearby were ‘strongly advised’ to leave their homes and members of the public were urged to avoid the Millbay area.
Bomb disposal experts had to pause their work overnight, as it was too dark to work safely,
Millbay Academy, which has more than 500 pupils, was evacuated on Wednesday and remains closed today.
The bomb was identified today as a German SC50 bomb, an explosive used by the Luftwaffe during World War Two.
Members of the public were urged to avoid the Millbay area as residents were evacuated
A Royal Navy bomb team was called to Plymouth after an ordnance was found in the Millbay area
Coastal towns and cities in Devon were a major target for German aircraft during the war due to important ports and infrastructure in the county.
More than 2,000 bombs are believed to have been dropped over Plymouth, with around 10 per cent failing to detonate.
In February 2024, a man found an unexploded World War Two bomb in his garden after hitting it with his spade.
Ian Jary, 57, unearthed a 500kg bomb while digging in the back garden of his daughter’s home to make foundations for a rear extension.
The undersea drilling expert, said he even hit the potentially deadly bomb with a spade before he knew what it was.
The device was later taken out to sea and detonated – following the largest evacuation since World War Two.
