Map showed homes at risk from WW2 bomb

'NEVER BEFORE HAVE WE HAD SUCH DETAIL' - POLICE

- LORNA HUGHES

EXPERTS have shared how they identified the homes at risk from a huge unexploded WW2 bomb discovered in Plymouth earlier this year. The 500kg dropped bomb was found in a garden in St Michael Avenue in Keyham in February.

It prompted one of the largest UK evacuation operations in peacetime, according to the Ministry of Defence. More than 10,000 people were evacuated from their homes before the explosive was detonated at sea.

But how did experts know exactly which homes needed to be evacuated? It was all down to Ordnance Survey maps – and a lot of technical skill along the way.

When the bomb was found, Devon and Cornwall Police (DCP) reached out to Ordnance Survey for assistance. A major incident was declared, with properties within 300 metres of the bomb evacuated.