Bomb squad farm dash as shell spotted
Wartime device seen during clearout
An unexploded WW1 bomb found during a clearout of a farm in rural Perthshire sparked a police alert.
The 100- year- old shell had been resting in a corner of the a barn near Aberfeldy “for decades” undisturbed among agricultural implements and equipment.
The property owner - who sent a picture of the rusty cylinder to police prompting an evacuation and bomb disposal team response - has urged others not to delay if they find something similar.
The shell was pointed out after a scrap metal collector took away other items and the potential danger dawned on the family.
“I took a picture on Sunday afternoon and sent it to the police after calling 101,” said the property owner. “As soon as they saw it, a crew set off from Perth.
“It was too dark by then for the disposal team to work, so the thing - a WWI shell - was guarded overnight by police and the house evacuated.
“I’ve no idea how it got to be there. I don’t even know if it was brought back from the war as a souvenir or what.
“We’ve had the farm since the 1970s and it was hidden behind bits and bobs from time past.
“The main thing is I want people to be aware if they find something unusual, to get straight on to the police.”
The device was safely detonated on Monday morning by an army team brought in from Edinburgh.
Immediate neighbours were warned of the planned activity.
Described as a shell 18pdr HE, the full cylinder likely made over 100 years ago, weighed around 18.5lb.
These shells were the ammunition used in the Ordnance QF 18-pounder gun, the standard British Empire field gun of the First World War-era.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers in Tayside were contacted after an unexploded ordnance device was discovered at a farm in Aberfeldy on Sunday, October 17.
“EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] were contacted and the device was detonated safely on Monday, October 18, 2021.”
A spokesperson for the army’s EOD unit added: “We can confirm that a team from Edinburgh Tp, 521 Sqn, 11 EOD&S Regt RLC assisted the local authorities following the discovery of a shell 18pdr HE. The item was safely destroyed.”