A bomb disposal team was called after landscapers uncovered an armory containing unexploded World War II artillery believed to have been buried by a pensioner 77 years ago.
The 94-year-old man was 17 when he buried the ammunition in the garden of a house in Bromley Road, Colchester, at the end of World War II, a neighbor has said.
But they have been rediscovered by the landscapers and a widespread alert has been issued.
The Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, based at Merville Barracks in Colchester, arrived at the scene to deal with the mass of live ordnance.
A bit of a commotion this morning when neighbors’ landscapers found an unexploded mortar shell. The police asked us all to leave the building. Now the bomb squad is waiting. pic.twitter.com/qaQcise2qy
— Will Reinhardt (@willreinhardt) June 7, 2022
Upon inspection, the items included various old World War II shells, mortars and ammunition, all of which were live.
In a series of tweets, a neighbor detailed how events unfolded, from police urging residents to leave their homes to ringtone recordings of the bomb disposal team arriving at 12.24pm.
At 1:16 p.m., after police finally deemed it safe for residents to return to their homes 20 minutes later, five more unexploded grenades were found in the garden.
It eventually turned out that a 94-year-old neighbor who once lived on the property and now lives down the road had buried the ammunition there when he was 17, at the end of World War II.
No one on the street was hurt and the bomb recovery team was able to safely recover the unexploded weapons for disposal.
The army has arrived to investigate. pic.twitter.com/xWE74H4hd3
— Will Reinhardt (@willreinhardt) June 7, 2022
An Army spokesman said: “We can confirm that an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team from Colchester Garrison was called to an incident at Bromley Road, Colchester on 7 June.
“During the inspection, various grenades, mortars and ammunition from World War II were found in the garden of the property. The items were recovered by the team for safe disposal.
“At no point was there any danger to residents and we thank the public for their patience.
“We always advise the public that if they accidentally disturb what they believe to be live weapons, they should urgently contact their local police force.”