WWII bomb has been put into the water by military
The bomb has now been put into the water, Plymouth Highways said on X.
The bomb has now successfully been put into the water and the road closures are being removed.
— Plymouth Highways (@plymhighways) February 23, 2024
Key events
Steven Morris
Usually as the weekend approaches, the streets, shops and pubs around Devonport, the largest naval dockyard in western Europe, hum with life.
But an eerie hush fell on the area on Friday after more than 10,000 people were evacuated from homes and workplaces so that a second-world-war bomb dropped on Plymouth by the Luftwaffe 80 years ago could be extracted from a back garden.
Police cleared parks, ferries stopped running, trains were halted, schools shut and there was a collective holding of breath as a military convoy transported the 500kg bomb â very slowly â through the terraced streets that tumble down to a slipway leading to the River Tamar.
From there, it was being gingerly floated out into Plymouth Sound, past Drakeâs Island and the breakwater, to be detonated far away from the cityâs streets.
It was a satisfactory conclusion to a difficult few days for the people who live near the back garden in the neighbourhood of Keyham where the bomb was discovered.
âFunny old week really, wasnât it?â said Cassie Dunton, who works in a motorcycle shop close to the dockyard. âStrange times. You wonder how many more of these bombs are out there waiting to be found. Whatâs been nice is that everyone has stuck together. Itâs a great community here. We look after each other.â
A man said he has gone to Devilâs Point in Plymouth with two friends to try to watch the bomb being taken out to sea and detonated.
Adam told BBC Radio Devon: âSince we came a couple of hours ago, itâs gone quite dark, so it is much, much harder to see.â
Devon and Cornwall Police has confirmed the successful military operation.
Rail services to and from Plymouth have restarted, National Rail has announced on social media, after the bomb was moved into the water.
Police chief superintendent Ian Drummond-Smith wrote on X said: âThe bomb has gone to sea!
âThank you to everyone for your patience and good spirits.â
WWII bomb has been put into the water by military
The bomb has now been put into the water, Plymouth Highways said on X.
The bomb has now successfully been put into the water and the road closures are being removed.
— Plymouth Highways (@plymhighways) February 23, 2024
Johnny Mercer, the MP for Plymouth Moor View, thanked emergency responders for removing the device discovered in the Keyham area of Plymouth.
He said he expects all evacuated residents to be allowed to return to their homes this evening.
A huge thank you and massive respect to all the Police, coastguard, military, mountain rescue, Plymouth City Council staff and multiple volunteers who have worked around the clock to deal with this bomb in Keyham.
I expect all 10,000 evacuated residents to return this evening. pic.twitter.com/dXNWAOcVRT
— Rt Hon Johnny Mercer (@JohnnyMercerUK) February 23, 2024
The WWII bomb is now being taken by convoy to the Torpoint Ferry slipway to be disposed of in the sea.
Here is more from the local council via my colleague Steven Morris.
âResidents of Keyham and surrounding areas â thank you so much for your patience.
âWe have been notified by the military that operation has been a success and the bomb has been removed from the area.
âTherefore, we can now start removing the cordon so people who have been evacuated can return to their homes. However, it will take some time for all the roads closures to be removed, so please bear with the staff on the ground.
âPlease be aware that we anticipate a lot of traffic heading back to the area, so we would ask that you donât rush and try to stagger your journey.
Trains are now live and the bus network will recommence shortly. Remember, the Life Centre is still open with refreshments and free parking for those impacted.â
Bomb successfully removed by military
Plymouth City Council have just written on X that the operation is a success and the bomb has been removed.
As a result, the cordon is being removed so people evacuated can return to their homes.
â Cordon is being lifted â
We have been notified by the military that operation has been a success and the bomb has been removed. We can now start removing the cordon so people who have been evacuated can return to their homes. Roads will be busy! ð pic.twitter.com/UFIV1VNNN1
— Plymouth City Council (@plymouthcc) February 23, 2024
Plymouth City Council said 10,320 people and 4,300 properties now fall within todayâs cordon.
The initial planned cordon included 3,250 people and 1,219 properties.
A resident in Plymouth has written on social media that the bomb was discovered one metre from her dining room window.
The resident wrote on Facebook: âWords canât even begin to describe the rollercoaster of emotions and turmoil we have been through these past few days!
âThere is a lot of speculation about where the bomb is and we have kept quiet through the matter due to shock and not able to process what was happening but sadly have to say it is on our barrier wall between us and the neighbours garden, about 1M away from our dining room window.
âWeâve had meetings with the MOD to prepare us for the worst which meant we have totally had to gut our house yesterday with 25 military loading up removal vans which as you can imagine was overwhelming in itself, just chucking everything we own into box after box within 1 hour whilst of course it was absolutely lashing down!
The house looks like itâs been ran sacked with windows left open and sand bags piled for protection, chunks out doorframes damaged walls and filthy carpets but we will take this over having no house left at all.
âWe were told the bomb could not be moved and will have to be detonated there and then which could result in our homes collapsing to the ground….words fail me for how this felt. As minimal damage will still require structural engineers to deem safe to return to our homes.
âThey have been digging up around the bomb through the night and we now know as most of the city does too that they are going to be moving it to the breakwater which is the best news we could hope for but this does not mean we are safe yet as it is still active and could go off.â
Bomb convoy now on the move
The convoy is now on the move. Just previously Plymouth City Council said in a statement at bomb disposal experts were going to start moving the device.
The statement read:
We have been informed by the bomb disposal experts that the operation to remove the bomb will shortly commence.
We would like to thank everyone in the cordon area for leaving so swiftly.
We know that everyone will be keen to return to the area as soon as possible, but because it took slightly longer than expected to ensure the area was fully evacuated, we are anticipating that the lifting of the cordon will now happen at around 6.15pm.
Please do not start heading back to the area until we provide an update on this page that it is safe to do so. Even when the bomb has been removed, it will take some time to remove the cordon and would ask that people bear with us.
.jpg)
