German bomb sends residents fleeing
A GERMAN bomb found under a school playground was made safe last night just as hundreds of residents were preparing for a second night evacuated from their homes.
A 900ft exclusion zone was set up after the discovery on Thursday at the Royal High School, Bath, where Bake Off star Mary Berry went as a child.
Contractors unearthed the 500lb Second World War shell from beneath the playground, which had been in use until two years ago.
Police said the shell was de-activated by Army experts from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit.
Scary
The city’s exclusion zone would remain in place while the bomb was removed and taken out of Bath to be disposed of in a controlled manner, police said last night.
Chief Supt Ian Smith praised residents and local businesses affected by the incident.
“Thank you for your patience, cooperation and support throughout the last 24 hours,” he said. “We have worked as quickly and diligently as possible to limit the disruption caused but, as you can expect with an incident of this nature, public safety has to be our primary concern. As soon as the Members of the Army disposal squad survey the 500lb 4½ft bomb yesterday cordon is removed and all roads are clear, we will update all the local residents so they can return home.”
Residents from 1,100 properties nearby were advised to leave immediately after the bomb’s discovery. Three primary schools were closed along with a doctor’s surgery.
Some residents chose to stay in their homes against advice but others were taken to Bath’s racecourse, Guildhall and Pavilion.
A group of elderly residents spent the night sleeping on chairs in a hospitality suite at the racecourse.
Pensioners Jan Lawrence, 67, and her husband Bob, 70, were evacuated by police at 9pm on Thursday. She said: “There was a knock, it was the police. They said we had to go.” Mr Lawrence, said: “Hopefully, they will let us back in soon. We just want to go home.”
Student Harriet Gillingham, 20, spent the night at a friend’s house.
She said: “I went back at nine this morning and a policeman said it was unstable and could go off. My house is just two streets down, 100 yards away. It is quite scary.”
The bomb disposal team built a barrier around the device yesterday using 250 tons of sand.
During the Bath Blitz over two days in April 1942, more than 400 people were killed and 1,000 injured as 20,000 buildings were damaged.