More than 150 World War II bombs found under playground in England

More than 150 bombs from World War II have been found under a children’s playground in northern England, with concerns that more might remain, officials said.

The bombs were discovered as a construction project was under way to renovate the Scotts Park playground in Wooler, a small town in Northumberland, England, near the border with Scotland.

The bombs were discovered as a construction project was under way to renovate the Scotts Park playground in Wooler.Credit: Mark Mather

The BBC reported that workers had found a “suspicious object” on January 14 while digging foundations. It turned out to be a practice bomb, or a non-explosive bomb that is used for training but can still be harmful.

The Wooler Parish Council enlisted Brimstone Site Investigations, a company that specialises in unexploded ordnance, to investigate the site, council officials said in a news release.

Brimstone arrived on January 23 for what was supposed to be a two-day survey, “but it soon became apparent that the scale of the problem was far greater than anyone had anticipated”, the parish council wrote.

On the first day, Brimstone identified an additional 65 practice bombs, each weighing 10 pounds, as well as smoke cartridges.

On the second day of work at the site, Brimstone recovered an additional 90 practice bombs and safely removed them to a designated storage area, the council wrote.

The BBC reported that the Ministry of Defence had ordered a full survey of the site.

Though the bombs were practice bombs, “they do still carry a charge” and required removal by specialists, the parish council’s release said, adding, “These have been found with their fuse and contents still intact – and the detonator burster and smoke filling in particular can still be potentially hazardous.”

A spokesperson for the Northumberland County Council called the discovery “unexpected”.

Though the bombs were practice bombs, “they do still carry a charge” and required removal by specialists, the parish council’s release said.Credit: Mark Mather

Mark Mather, an official in Wooler, told the BBC that about a third of the park had been cleared and it was possible there were more bombs.

“It’s quite something to think the children have been playing on bombs,” Mather said.

Mather said Wooler had been a training centre for the Home Guard, a volunteer citizen militia considered the last line of defence against the Germans during World War II.

“After the war, it looked like they just buried all the ordnance in one of the pits,” Mather said.

The Ministry of Defence said a team had visited the site twice in January, the BBC reported, but it did not offer further details.

The Wooler Parish Council said it hoped contractors could resume work in April once the site had been declared safe.

Brimstone, the Ministry of Defence, Mather, the Wooler Parish Council and the Northumberland County Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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