Western Morning News (Saturday)
Clergyman’s family home damaged by bomb blast
THE family whose home is the closest to the World War Two bomb discovered and detonated in Exeter last week face months of waiting to permanently move back in after the controlled blast badly damaged the building.
Church of England curate the Reverend Ash Leighton Plom and his wife and son live just metres away from the building site where the bomb was uncovered last Friday.
They were evacuated along with hundreds of others while bomb disposal experts packed hundreds of tonnes of sand around the German shell and carried out a controlled explosion.
But they have now discovered the damage caused by the blast just metres from their front door will take months to repair.
While they are back there temporarily, following urgent temporary repairs, they will need to move out for several months while more major renovation work is done.
Their house, which is a church property belonging to the Diocese of Exeter, suffered damage to the roof, doors, windows and walls in the blast.
Ash, who is a curate at St David’s Church with St Michael’s Mount Dinham in Exeter, said: “I was actually leading morning prayer from the church when the bomb was found and my wife and son were told to leave the house.
“We were praying for the brave team who worked to disarm the bomb, for all the services and volunteers coordinating to help us evacuees, and for all the residents affected.
“It was very hard being worried about it but unable to do anything.” The family relocated to a local hotel along with dozens of other ‘evacuees’.
He said “People were being very kind to each other. My thoughts and prayers are with those who don’t have the benefit of a loving church network around them.
“We’ve been doing what we can, mainly helping with the multi-agency effort, finding accommodation and supplies for people, and a fair bit of pastoral ministry.”
“It was a relief to see the house, because it was easy to imagine the worst before we got in there,” Ash said.
“Even though it was difficult to see the state of things, it was also helpful to see it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Especially after seeing the dramatic footage online.”
The Archdeacon of Exeter, the Venerable Andrew Beane, said: “Whilst we are thankful to the emergency services and military for their heroic efforts to ensure the safety of residents following the discovery of the WW2 German bomb, we are deeply concerned for the wellbeing for those residents whose homes have been damaged by the controlled explosion.
“We are working with Ash to care for his and his family’s pastoral needs, as well as provide practical and financial support.
“We are exploring a number of options with regards to finding a temporary home as a matter of urgency.”
THE number of privately-owned purely electric vehicles on UK roads has increased by 53% in just 12 months, according to new analysis – with Cornwall among the top counties for buying electric.
Nationally 86,130 of the vehicles were licensed as of the end of September last year, compared with 56,393 at the same point in 2019.
Cornwall registered some of the highest number of any county in England – 899 vehicles.
The largest number of privately licensed battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are in London, led by Barnet with 1,235. Wiltshire has the second highest number (1,075 vehicles), followed by Westminster in central London (919), Cornwall (899), and Camden, north London (781).
The areas with the smallest number of BEVs – apart from some island communities and the City of London – are in South Wales.
Merthyr Tydfil has just 21 of the vehicles, while Blaenau Gwent has 27.
The figures are based are RAC analysis of Government data.
The sale of new petrol and dieselfuelled cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2030.