Army “blow up” 500lb bomb near Thetford
An Army bomb disposal team have blown up a 500lb World War Two bomb in King’s Forest near Thetford.
The live bomb and a mortar round were discovered yesterday afternoon about a mile from the B1106 during heathland recreation work by Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
Suffolk Police said bomb disposal were called and a police guard was kept on the devices overnight.
A 1.6km cordon was established around the site and there was an airspace restriction due to the size of the bomb.
The Forestry Commission, who own the site, say it is known for turning up pieces of ordnance so before the NWT begins its work a specialist survey team using ground penetrating sensors surveyed it and identified the bomb.
A spokesman said: “We knew there was stuff in the area, but this bomb turned out to be live.”
The Army’s bomb disposal team decided the remote location with no nearby buildings made it safest to blow it up on site. A police helicopter used a thermal camera to check there were no people nearby before the controlled explosion which was completed at about 1pm. All restrictions have now been lifted.
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