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WW2 bomb found on building site safely detonated

Kate Moser Andon
BBC News, Essex
Essex Police A police car is parked on a roadside, a uniformed police officer is standing next to it, the road has traffic cones along either side and in the distance are electricity pylonsEssex Police
A cordon had been in place at the site since the device was found on Tuesday

Specialists have successful carried out a controlled explosion of a World War Two bomb discovered on a construction site.

The buried device was uncovered near Station Road in East Tilbury, Essex at 11:30 GMT on Tuesday before the detonation took place on Friday.

Ch Supt Scott Egerton said: “It was decided detonation of the device at the scene was preferable to making an attempt to move it."

The railway line between Grays and Pitsea was temporarily closed earlier, but disruption was expected to continue into the early evening.

Essex Police The WW2 bomb in the centre of the image. It is covered in concrete where it was found on a construction site. Essex Police
The device, covered in concrete in the centre of the image, was detonated on Friday after experts from the Ministry of Defence carried out a controlled explosion

The site was cordoned off after the discovery in order to allow Ministry of Defence experts to assess the area, but it has since been stood down.

Thurrock district commander Ch Insp Anthony Atkin said: "This discovery was made on a fairly remote construction site and, as such, the impact on the wider community has, so far, been minimal."

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