Two unexploded artillery shells have been found buried on a building site in Latchford, causing two days of construction delays. The UXO, identified as originating from WWII, was encountered during excavations works.

Police evacuated a number of homes and closed the road as a precaution while awaiting the attendance of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team. Local families were being accommodated in a hotel overnight.

Warrington artillery shells
The latchford building site where the uxos were found

What are artillery shells?

A shell is a hollow (carrier) projectile containing a hazardous fill (high explosive, chemical or smoke). It differs from solid shot, which contains no fill and instead relies entirely on kinetic energy to cause damage to a target.

An artillery shell refers to any carrier projectile fired from a gun ranging from autocannon calibre (20 mm) up to the largest artillery pieces ever fired; 800 mm German siege artillery.

If you’re interested in learning more about UXO contamination in the UK, you can take a look at our blog here.

Avoid delays to your project

Items of UXO cannot be blown up in-situ during the hours of darkness. As such, an Army EOD team disposed of the shells the following day.

Brimstone EOD engineers are licensed to deal with UXO of a comparable weight to these items. Had an engineer been on site at the time, the UXO would likely have been dealt with in a more timely manner, potentially allowing works to continue sooner.

To find out more about Brimstone EOD engineer services, explore our website.

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