A SUSPECTED BOMB thought to date back to the Second World War was found on a building site on Friday.
Thames Valley Police cordoned off Plough Lane at 11.47am after builders made the dangerous discovery.
Fifteen homes on Plough Lane between Buttercup Close and Bean Oak Road were evacuated as part of a cordon put into place. The builders are reported to have retreated to the nearby Loch Fyne Restaurant as their vehicles were on site.
The Royal Logistic Corps bomb disposal squad removed the device and disposed of it safely. There was no damage to any buildings or equipment and the site was safely locked down for the weekend.
The device is thought to be a 2ft long mortar bomb and about 110lb, often used in Nazi bombing raids during the Second World War. The bombs contained a magnesium tube and a sheet iron tail, designed to cause maximum damage.
It is thought that there are still thousands of the bombs left to be discovered across the country as up to one in 10 bombs that landed in the UK failed to detonate.
Earlier this summer, workmen found 17 suspected Second World War bombs on a building site in Gloucestershire.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph earlier in the year, a Royal Logistic Corps Staff Sergeant attending another unexploded bomb said: “Bombs are safe while not touched.”
The building site on Plough Lane is part of Wokingham’s ongoing regeneration project which will see 13,000 homes built over the next few years.
It is next to a Bellway Homes project called Carillons and comprises two, three, four and five bedroom homes. A total of 150 homes are being built on the site, which also includes a pond and open spaces.
