Residents of Plymouth who have been evacuated from their homes have taken to social media to joke about the fact they’ve been sitting on top of an exploded Nazi bomb for years.
Thousands of people and hundreds of offices, shops and houses have been frantically cleared before the hazardous mission that will see an Army convoy move the Second World War bomb through the city to detonate in the sea.
Due to the enormous size of the bomb, army experts have decided it’s not safe to detonate it where it was found as it would likely flatten houses, so instead a military convoy has been scrambled to chauffer the bomb to the Torpoint Ferry slipway.
While the bomb is being moved, a 300-metre cordon affecting 1,200 properties and an estimated 3,250 people will be in place and the local train line have also been shut – turning much of Plymouth into a ghost town.
Naturally, the surreal atmosphere the bomb has created in the city has caused locals to joke about it on social media.
Residents of Plymouth who have been evacuated from their homes have taken to social media to joke about the fact they’ve been sitting on top of an exploded Nazi bomb for years
Social media has been rife with suggestions on how the bomb should be disposed off
One X user suggested that the fish swimming along the coast of Plymouth might not be too thrilled that one of Adolf Hitler’s bombs would be dropped on them.
Another joked: ‘Adding removal of WW2 bomb to my list of reasons for rail repay wasn’t on my 2024 bingo.’
One suggested that the bomb’s parade through the high street should be live streamed so people could watch its progress.
Another joked that the evacuation would be a good chance for people to head to the pub.
In the three-hour window, highly-trained bomb disposal experts will remove the weapon and transport it by military convoy to Torpoint Ferry terminal.
A number of schools and nurseries will be closed in Plymouth to enable the operation to happen.
These include Keyham Barton Catholic Primary School, Drake Primary School, Morice Town Primary School, UTC Plymouth Pelican Children’s Day Care and Morice Town Children’s Centre and nursery.
Defence bosses have opted to move the bomb intact by military convoy from its location in St Michael’s Avenue (top right) travelling to the Torpoint ferry landing (bottom left). A 300-metre cordon (in orange) around 1,200 properties along the route has been issued from 2pm to 5pm.
Residents have been issued with a ‘severe alert’ which urges residents to ‘stay away’ during the Army operation
An aerial view showing the house where the bomb was discovered on Tuesday
Alarmed homeowners were told their homes could be blown up today as disposal experts consider whether to detonate an unexploded WW2 bomb
This message greeted people arriving at Plymouth station this afternoon
Today locals told of their shock as the emergency text message suddenly appeared on their phones
Trainlines will be closed and ferry and bus services will be suspended or diverted as the convoy travels the 2 miles from the property where the bomb was discovered on Tuesday.
A Plymouth City Council spokesman told residents: ‘The military advice is very clear and for your own safety, you need to leave your home and the area of the cordon by 2pm and we anticipate that you will be able to return by 5pm.’
Supt Phil Williams of Devon & Cornwall Police said: ‘Over the last few days, our military colleagues have been assessing a device that was found in the garden of a property in Keyham.
‘They’ve reached a decision now after carrying out those assessments that they plan to move that device, rather than detonate in situ. That’s the least impactful option.
‘A new 300-metre cordon will be put in place and the bomb is going to be taken from the address down to a slipway near the Torpoint ferry where it will be taken out to sea and then safely disposed of.’