Close to 200 unexploded World War II bombs have been discovered underneath a children’s playground in north England, with fears even more could be discovered.
Close to 200 unexploded World War II bombs have been discovered underneath a children’s playground in north England, with fears even more could be discovered.
Close to 200 unexploded World War II bombs have been discovered underneath a children’s playground in north England, with fears even more could be discovered.
A total of 176 practice bombs, many of which still contain a charge, were discovered in Northumberland during a number of searches following the first discovery in January.
Two of the bombs were initially removed by the British army before the local parish council was advised to do a full survey of the playground. That’s when a further 174 were discovered.
It’s believed the area was used as a Home Guard training ground before the bombs were buried following the end of WWII in 1945.
It’s believed the area was used as a Home Guard training ground before the bombs, which still carry charge, were buried following the end of WWII in 1945.
“I never thought as a parish councillor I’d be dealing with bomb disposal,” Conservative councillor Mark Mather told the BBC.
“It’s quite something to think the children have been playing on bombs and it’s been a really challenging situation.
“We’ve only cleared about a third of all the park and we could still find another pit with more bombs in.”
How the bombs were discovered
In December, the Wooler Parish Council secured a grant to build a fully inclusive playground, costing £150,00 ($330,000). But when they started digging the foundations in January the first bombs were discovered.
Bomb experts were called in and they confirmed the first device was a training bomb.
'It's quite something to think the children have been playing on bombs and it's been a really challenging situation,' Mather said.
After specialist site investigators were appointed, they found 65 bombs weighing around 45kg each. The following day a further 90 bombs were discovered.
“They are called practice bombs so they’re not live,” Mather said.
“But they do still carry a charge and were found with the fuse and contents intact so they could be hazardous.
“The story we’re getting from locals is that Wooler was a centre for Home Guard training and officers came here from all over the country.
“After the war it looked like they just buried all the ordnance in one of the pits.”
