Dozens of World War II bombs unearthed at children's playground in northern England
Construction workers found the first bomb when they began work on the Scotts Park playground in the small town of Wooler last month, Kerren Rodgers, a spokesperson for the local Parish Council, told NBC News Tuesday. Since then, she said 176 bombs had been recovered.
Describing the find as 'unexpected,' the council said in a news release Friday that bomb disposal experts, Brimstone Site Investigations, had been called in to search the site for more explosives.
On their first day, they uncovered 65 practice bombs, each weighing 10 pounds, in an area just over 10 square feet, the release said.
'Whilst this ordnance is described a practice bombs, they do still carry a charge,' the release said. By the end of the second day, a further 90 practice bombs had been recovered, it added.
Given the numbers involved, the bombs needed 'to be recovered by professionals to satisfy all concerned that the playpark area is once again safe for contractors and ultimately users of the equipment,' the release said.
'Our main concern is to make the site completely safe and to restart the installation of the fully inclusive playground as soon as practical,' said Rodgers, the council spokesperson.
A spokesperson for Brimstone Site Investigations told NBC News that its team of engineers was currently working on-site to safely remove and dispose of all the bombs, but said it was unable to provide further comment for safety and operational reasons until the job was completed. They did not say when that might be.
In a separate interview with the BBC, Councillor Mark Mather said that the area may have been used a Home Guard training ground where army officers came from across the country.
'After the war, it looked like they just buried all the ordnance in one of the pits,' he added.
It is far from the first time that unexploded World War II ordnance has been discovered in Britain.
In what the U.K.'s defense ministry called 'one of the largest U.K. peacetime evacuation operations,' thousands of people were told to leave their homes in the southwestern city of Plymouth after an unexploded bomb was discovered in a garden last February.
Authorities transported the device, which weighed just over 1,000 pounds, through the city before detonating it at sea.
Further north, in Scotland's capital of Edinburgh, three unexploded bombs dropped during a German raid in 1940 remain buried under the city's streets, according to the police archives.
So far, only a third of the children's park in Wooler has been cleared as officials continue carrying out further excavations to ensure no more ordnance is hidden underneath.
'It's quite something to think the children have been playing on bombs and it's been a really challenging situation," Mather added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
LIZ JONES: In which I'm so lonely, I text the German
I'm a bad feminist. I am very ashamed. What can I say? I'm weak. I have just had an oak parquet floor laid in my sitting and dining rooms, and I wanted to share how it looks. I am sick of being alone. I texted the German. 'Was thinking about you today. I hope you are OK and happy. I wanted you to know I don't blame you for anything. I imagine life has been hard for you and you've never met a strong, powerful woman who wanted to look after you. I imagine you have been used. I could be wrong. Anyway, the weekend you came to stay at my house is held warmly in my memory. I really did love you. Liz x.'
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'My neighbours made a petition to get rid of my dogs so kids can play in my garden'
A man has shared his disbelief after his neighbour demanded he get rid of his two dogs, who had been living with his parents, because her child got poo on his hands When house hunting, you'll likely have a checklist of must-haves, nice-to-haves, and negotiables. However, one aspect you might overlook until it's too late is the neighbours. A couple were left rather taken aback by their new neighbours, who initially offered friendly greetings but later began dictating what they could and couldn't do on their own property. A 36-year-old man took to Reddit to share how he and his wife had recently purchased their first home, specifically chosen for its "huge back garden". Initially, their new neighbours politely asked if their children could continue using the expansive back garden, but then things took an unexpected turn. It comes after Brits are told to never put one banned item in garden bins as you could face punishment. The man explained: "The previous owners of our place were an elderly childless couple who were well known in the area for basically being grandparents to everyone and the husband had built multiple tree houses and bridges in the trees for kids to play in. The property is fully fenced but has three swinging gates into it. "When we first moved in we were approached by the next-door neighbour who very politely asked if her kids could keep using the backyard to play in. We agreed that it was OK so long as she understood that if her kids got hurt it wasn't our problem and we wouldn't be supervising kids playing or anything. "She was fine with that and seemed very appreciative and brought over biscuits and juice when she came over to watch her kids. Word went around and eventually we had around a dozen kids coming by each week, some supervised, some in groups of two or three, but everyone was polite and tidy so we didn't really care." However, after Christmas, things took a turn when the man's parents moved into a retirement home and could no longer look after their two dogs - an 11-year-old Belgian shepherd and a 12-year-old German shepherd cross Belgian. The man decided to adopt the dogs, which were adored by the children, until one day an irate neighbour stormed over to complain about them - insisting they get rid of them. He continued: "The problem started when a lady we didn't know showed up at our house and started screaming at my wife, apparently her six-year-old had come home with his friends and they had dog poo smeared all over their hands. She basically told my wife that if she didn't get rid of the dogs then her kids wouldn't come over anymore and she'd press charges for endangerment. "My wife basically told her to eff off and that it wouldn't have happened if she'd been supervising her child. The woman left and came back with a petition and around six signatures for us to get rid of the dogs. We told her to do one and that kids were now no longer welcome. We locked the gates and put signs up explaining and left it at that. "Several of the nice neighbours have come by to beg us to change our minds but we don't want to risk it and we don't have the time to supervise the kids so the gates stay locked. We are now arguing with a couple of people who feel it's unfair that the entire neighbourhood is tarred because of one person's actions." Nevertheless, the man was left questioning whether he'd been too harsh by shutting off the garden completely. "There is something seriously wrong with people who think it's OK to sign a petition telling other people to get rid of their well-behaved, confined, senior dogs. Like beyond simple entitlement wrong", someone raged. "I would just explain to your good neighbours that it's a decision you had to make to protect yourselves and your dogs and it would cause way too much trouble if you let some children in and not others. Honestly just telling the parents you aren't liable if their kids hurt themselves may not be enough to protect you, if you do choose to allow children in again, [I recommend] talking to an attorney first." Another fumed: "I would choose my dogs over any human - especially children. I'm child-free and love dogs more than anything. Make sure to tell them which lady it was".
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Medieval knight's 1,000-year-old tomb is unearthed beneath ice cream shop in ‘insane' archaeological breakthrough
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A DEVELOPMENT at the site of an old ice cream shop has led to a major discovery. Archaeologists have unearthed what they believe to be the tomb of a medieval knight beneath the structure. 1 The remains of what is believed to be a medieval knight were discovered under an ice cream shop Credit: Facebook The remains were found under a busy street corner in Gdańsk, a city in northern Poland. This area is known for its rich history, with other archaeological dicoveries made at the same site. A statement from Poland's Provincial Council for the Protection of Monuments detailed the finding. Medieval era The grave is thought to be from either the 13th or 14th century, according to a report shared on the city's website. Read More On Archaeology STRUCK GOLD Breakthrough as ring unlocking secrets of 'vanished' kingdom is unearthed in UK It also revealed that the knight measured about 5-feet-6 and is estimated to have been about 40 years old at the time of his death. Researchers believe the man was a knight due to a hand-carved limestone tombstone over his grave, which depicted a knight holding a shield. Popular Mechanics reported that the coat of arms on the carved shield has worn away, meaning researchers are currently unable to determine who the knight served. While the city of Gdańsk was ruled by the Teutonic Knights in 1308, the buried knight could also have served a number of different rulers. According to experts, other contenders include a Sobieslaw dynasty or a German house. Researchers with the Polish archaeological company ArcheoScan have been studying the area since 2023. 'Once in a century' Pompeii discovery as ancient luxury SPA is saved from ashes with thermal baths & stunning mosaic This project took place after a popular local ice cream parlor, which had stood on the site for 60 years, was sold to developers. Developers are required by law to allow archaeologists to survey the site before any new structures could be built, according to Science in Poland. Previous discoveries The outlet reported that researchers had previously discovered the remains of a large wooden church at the site and over 200 burial sites and six tombstones. "What we're unearthing here is insane," Sylwia Kurzyńska, a member of the archaeological team, told the Polish Associated Press. She also revealed that a fragment of the knight's chainmail boot and leggings were preserved. The tombstone and skeleton have since been taken to the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk, where they will undergo further study, reports Smithsonian Magazine. Researchers plan to learn more about who the knight was and where he came from. They said they hope to release more about their findings sometime in 2026. More on archaeology The remains of a lost Roman city have been uncovered on a popular holiday island. And the lost tomb of a 1,700-year-old king was uncovered in Mayan temple. Plus, the eerie "hybrid" skull that belonged to a "half human, half neanderthal girl". An ancient lost city from 3,500-years-ago that played home to the oldest civilization in the Americas' was uncovered in Peru. And AI has deciphered a hymn on a 4,000-year-old clay tablet, which is said unlock the mystery of the ancient city of Babylon.
