Bomb’s away!

Nazi explosive forces families to flee before it’s taken out to sea

THOUSANDS were evacuated from their homes yesterday after a 1,100lb Nazi bomb found buried in a back garden was dramatically taken out to sea to be blown up.

A Royal Navy disposal team was scrambled after a father digging in his daughter’s garden discovered the Second World War- era munition when he hit it with a spade.

Hundreds of offices, shops, schools and houses in Plymouth were cleared in one of the largest evacuations in peacetime to allow explosive ordnance disposal experts to safely take the bomb on a nerve-shredding journey to the coast.

Army bosses decided the bomb would cause too much damage if it was detonated where it lay, potentially destroying multiple homes and risking lives.

Instead, it was driven slowly through narrow city streets on the back of a lorry and packed in sand – with 10,300 people and 4,300 properties within the cordon affected, according to the council.

Roads were closed and rail services halted to minimise the risk of vibrations potentially setting the explosive off, and reopened after it was towed to sea at 6pm yesterday evening.

The bomb was attached to a boat at Torpoint Ferry slipway and dropped in the Channel when safely past Plymouth’s

‘He was lucky ... he hit it with a spade’

breakwater. Once sunk, it was expected to be fitted with a ‘doughnut’ charge by a diver, causing it to explode by itself.

Last night Lt Col Rob Swan, leader of the disposal team, told the BBC the detonation would occur ‘hopefully at some point this evening, or indeed tomorrow depending on the weather conditions’.

Blowing the bomb up under water will temper the explosion, minimising the risk of anyone or anything being damaged. The blast is expected to create a large plume of water.

The Army convoy sparked a viewing frenzy, with some scurrying to vantage points to catch a glimpse, while others watched via internet livestreams.

Despite a blanket evacuation order being sent by text to thousands, Devon and Cornwall Police said it could not force people to leave their homes. One person claiming to be inside the cordon said he planned to stay in the bath while the bomb was removed. However, a steady flow of people wheeling suitcases, shopping bags and pets were seen leaving the area on foot.

Ian Jary found the bomb while digging the foundations for his daughter’s new extension on Tuesday, just two weeks after she moved in. They were forced to wait four days for the Army to come up with a plan and were warned along with neighbours that their homes could be blown up by the disposal team.

Mr Jary told Plymouth Live: ‘I’ve been helping out, doing DIY, sorted out a bedroom for her… We got four rooms replastered and were working on the extension for the kitchen. My daughter and her two neighbours were brought together for a meeting where they were effectively told to prepare that all three houses were going to be destroyed.’

Mr Jary’s wife Judy, 55, said her husband sent her a photo of the bomb after discovering it in the garden. ‘I said, “That doesn’t look right to me – just call the police,” and that’s what he did, thank goodness,’ she told the Mail.

‘He and the builder had been digging the foundations for a couple of weeks using a mechanical digger, which we think disturbed the bomb in the first place, so things could have gone very differently.

‘Looking back, Ian was very lucky, because he did hit it with a spade.’ The bomb had been dropped as part of Hitler’s campaign to target Navy infrastructure in Plymouth during the war.

Over 1,000 servicemen, police, coastguard and volunteers were involved in yesterday’s operation.