Controlled explosion at Newtownards WW2 bomb site

•
A plume of smoke could be seen over Newtownards on Tuesday afternoon

There has been a controlled explosion following the discovery of a suspected World War Two bomb, in Newtownards, County Down.

The 500kg (1,100lb) munition was found at a building site at the Rivenwood housing development last Thursday.

Four hundred nearby homes were evacuated on Saturday with residents told they could be out of their homes for five days.

Military experts had worked to reduce any damage from dealing with the bomb by constructing a sand-filled structure around it.

James Fraser, the developer of the site, told the BBC that the Army had informed him that some solar panels had been damaged on the nearby homes, but no windows were broken.

Earlier, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said the device was to be “dealt with on site”.

Police said the decision followed discussions at great length about whether the device should be removed.

On Saturday evening police said that the operation to neutralise the bomb, which has now entered its third day, could take “five or more days to complete”.

The police have not yet confirmed what type of explosive has been found, describing it as a “suspected historic piece of munition”, but Belfast and its surroundings were heavily bombed by Germany in 1941.

World War Two munitions are found across Northern Ireland from time to time, but they rarely cause this level of disruption to people living nearby. —BBC