British bomb detonated near Pompeii ruins

Bomb disposal experts today detonated a 250lb World War II bomb unearthed near the ruins of the ancient Roman town of Pompeii, a police official said.

Residents and tourists were forced to evacuate the area. The archaeological site remained closed for the day, Pompeii’s archaeological office said.

The British-made bomb, discovered last week during construction works on a road near the ruins, was detonated after a wall of earth had been constructed around it to cushion the impact of the explosion, a police official in Pompeii said.

The bomb was located some 490ft from the entrance to the ruins of the Roman city, which was buried by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.

Authorities evacuated 120 people from the area, including a group of tourists from a nearby camp site, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Controlled explosions of WWII bombs are common in Italy.

On Tuesday, around 5,000 people were temporarily evacuated from the coastal town of Formia – 71 mies south of Rome – while experts detonated another British-made bomb dropped during the war.