Suspected WW2 explosive found in UK as seaside town put on lockdown

12 March 2024 , 13:16

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Bomb squad locks down Wallasey over a suspected WW2 bomb

Part of a seaside resort was locked down on Tuesday after the discovery of a suspected WW2 bomb.

Bomb disposal teams were scrambled to New Brighton in Wallasey, Merseyside, on Tuesday after the alarm was raised. Part of an area by coastal dunes was sealed off by officers after they were called shortly before 11am.

Merseyside Police said they were called about a suspected unexploded device near to the beach, with the Army's bomb disposal teams deployed to the resort. A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "We can confirm we received a report of what is believed to be an unexploded ordnance device in New Brighton today, Tuesday 12^th March.

"At around 10.05am we received a report that the device had been found in an area near Coastal Drive. The Army’s EOD team have been notified. There are road closures in place while the matter is being dealt with and people are advised to avoid the area. Local train services have also been affected."

Army EOD teams were called to the device discovered near to a beach

Locals were hit by major travel disruption as a result of the incident, with Merseyrail services halted between New Brighton & Birkenhead North. Rail replacement buses were put on but were not stopping at Wallasey on Tuesday.

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Wallasey is a small town on the tip of the Wirral on the south bank of the Mersey river mouth. New Brighton, where the device was discovered, is a suburb popular with tourists and day trip visitors.

The terrifying incident follows the destruction of an unexploded shell in a couple's garden in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in December, which they had been inadvertently using as an ornament for years. Sian and Jeffrey Edwards had the bomb placed outside their home, which Mrs Edwards admitted to having used the knock dirt off her gardening tools.

Teams also descended on Craigmillar Park in Edinburgh the same month after the discovery of a historic bomb. EOD teams later carried out a controlled explosion on a nearby beach.

Susie Beever