WWII bomb safely detonated in London

A Second World War bomb discovered in the London area has been safely detonated by Army explosives experts.

A Second World War bomb discovered in the London area has been safely detonated by British Army explosives experts.

The German 1,000lb (454kg) device discovered in Bermondsey on Monday was destroyed by a controlled explosion this morning near the River Thames at Cliffe in northern Kent, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Soldiers of 11 EOD Regiment RLC destroyed the WW2 Bermondsey #bomb at 7.30am today at a site in Kent pic.twitter.com/eYJHTkiBFB

— British Army 🇬🇧 (@BritishArmy) March 25, 2015

Homes in a 200m exclusion zone around The Grange, where the air-dropped device was found by builders, were evacuated as British Army bomb disposal experts built a protective “igloo” around the 5ft (1.5m) device to protect the surrounding buildings in case of accidental detonation.

But they were able to secure the bomb, transporting it to Kent and allowing local people to return to their homes last night.