More than 175 World War II-era training weapons have been uncovered beneath a family’s park in northern England, raising fears that more may still be buried, authorities have said, according to the New York Times.
The discovery was made during construction work at Scotts Park park in Wooler, Northumberland, a small town near the British borders. Although these were training process bombs, they also have explosives and pose a risk.
Staff at the site on January 14 second discovered a suspicious thing while digging foundations there. A second weapon was found the next day, prompting local authorities to visit in Brimstone Site Investigations, a secret weapon removal company, for a two-day review. But, what was supposed to be a quick assessment quickly turned into a large-scale activity.
” It was almost exciting—crikey, we’ve found two”! said Mark Mather, a state council in Wooler, as quoted by the New York Post. However, it soon became apparent how big of a concern the problem was.
On January 23, Brimstone identified 65 training weapons, each weighing around 10 weight, along with smoking shells. 90 more bombs were discovered the following day and carefully transported to a designated storage place.
Even though the products were used for training, they also contained fuses, dynamite bursters, and smoke fillings, making them potentially hazardous. These have been discovered with their wire and contents still intact, and the explosive harasser and smoke filling in particular are still potentially dangerous, according to the Wooler Parish Council in a statement.
Link to military education
According to authorities, the weapons date back to World War II, when Wooler was used as a teaching base for the Home Guard, a human military established to protect Britain from German war.
According to Mather, clearing the page has taken a while and has been thorough. Every bit of discarded metal found must be examined to make sure it is not an incendiary device because the park is located next to an old railroad. It’s not something you generally anticipate when you start developing in a play park, he said.
Treatment attempts
The ministry of defense confirmed that the bomb disposal team half made an appearance at the page in January. Since then, it has been advising local government on how to safely remove the last of the weapon.
About half the park has been cleared, but the research is also continuous. In order for children to properly use the park once more, officials hope function will resume in April.
