'Shocking revelation' changed bomb plans

PLYMOUTH'S council supremo has told how the city received 'game changing' news from bomb experts about the potential damage the Keyham World War Two bomb could cause.

- CARL EVE

While the city was braced for the device to be exploded in situ, experts revealed that the potential damage caused would be far more extensive than originally expected.

Writing for a professional publication, Tracey Lee, the council's Chief Executive, revealed how that news led to the decision to remove the bomb and explode it at sea.

Her story also reveals how 134 people who refused to leave their homes could have scuppered plans | to move the bomb.

Writing for The MJ, she described the startling news received on the morning of Thursday February 22 as a "game changer" which resulted in council chiefs and the police urging the bomb experts to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan.

In the article, titled "Plymouth's rapid reaction, Ms Lee described the events which unfolded as "the biggest peacetime evacuation the UK has seen since the Second World War". She said while all councils regularly test civil protection plans "few have to put plans into practice on such a large scale" and, as such, she wanted to share Plymouth's experience with other councils.

She wrote: "As a coastal city with a rich naval heritage, we are used to unexploded bombs. We have a large naval base at Devonport, so when devices are found, the navy bomb disposal team assist without too much drama.

"On Tuesday February 20, the 70-year-old Second World War bomb was found in a garden in Keyham and the bomb disposal team were concerned about the device's stability and their ability to remove it safely.