Residents warned of damage to homes after blast

Residents from properties surrounding the site in Exeter where a Second World War bomb was detonated were told they may not be able to return home by yesterday evening.

The device, believed to be a 1,000kg “Hermann” bomb used by the Nazis, was discovered on a building site on private land to the west of the Exeter University campus on Friday morning.

Initially, a 100-metre cordon was erected but this was extended to 400 metres on Saturday at the request of the Royal Navy bomb disposal team.

Residents of around 2,600 properties in the vicinity of Glenthorne Road, including 1,400 university students, were evacuated on Friday and Saturday.

The controlled detonation of the device took place at 6.10pm on Saturday, with the explosion heard for miles.

Yesterday afternoon, Devon and Cornwall Police advised residents to plan for the eventuality that they would not be able to return home in the evening.

To mitigate the impact of the blast, about 400 tonnes of sand was transported to the site and walls were erected by the Royal Navy bomb disposal experts and Army personnel from the Royal Logistic Corps.

However, on Saturday police confirmed that the blast had been “significant”, leaving a crater around the size of a double decker bus and debris thrown at least 250 metres away.

A force spokesman said it was “impossible to predict” whether safety assessment work would be concluded yesterday, adding: “Regrettably, a number of properties predominantly within the 100-metre cordon have suffered structural damage.”