An unexploded Second World War bomb found at a property in Plymouth will be removed and transported by military convoy through the city for disposal at sea.
Any resident of the Devon city living within 300 metres of the convoy route will need to evacuate their home between the hours of 2pm and 5pm this afternoon.
Photos from the site where the device was dug up show the size of the explosive, as homeowners were warned their homes would be “destroyed” if it detonated.
Bomb disposal experts say a controlled explosion was considered but ruled out.
The “safest and least impactful option” is to “remove the device from St Michael Avenue and travel to the Torpoint Ferry slipway – for the bomb to be disposed of at sea (beyond the Breakwater)”.
The authorities added: “Highly trained bomb disposal experts will carefully remove the device from the property and it will be transported by road in a military convoy, west along Parkside and Royal Navy Avenue, joining at the junction on Saltash Road to continue south joining Albert Road, turning right along Park Avenue and heading down Ferry Road to the Torpoint Ferry terminal.”
Image: The exclusion zone around the evacuation route in Plymouth
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The owner of the property where the bomb was found on St Michael Avenue in Keyham previously said he was carrying out building works in his garden when the explosive was uncovered by rain.
He reported the possible explosive to Devon and Cornwall Police, who declared a “major incident” on Tuesday and evacuated properties within 200 metres.
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In an update on Thursday morning, Plymouth Council said the cordon had been extended to 309 metres, affecting 1,219 properties and an estimated 3,250 people.
Royal Naval Bomb Disposal experts have since dug around the explosive and used a special device to assess it.
Image: A radius of 309 metres has been evacuated
Image: The device was uncovered in a garden in Keyham. Pic: FPS Images
Owner warned ‘houses were going to be destroyed’
The man who found the device in his garden also told Plymouth Live he has been told to prepare for the worst-case scenario should the bomb explode.
“Last night my daughter and her two neighbours were brought together for a meeting where they were effectively told to prepare that all three houses were going to be destroyed,” he told the outlet on Thursday evening.
“We understand the EOD have carried out X-rays of the bomb and the fuses and sent off the information to a more senior bomb expert to analyse. I spoke with a major who said the decision on what they’ll do is being made much higher up.”
He added that his family and their neighbours have been allowed to enter the properties to gather their belongings.
Image: EOD crews have been at the site since Tuesday. Pic: FPS Images
Image: The property owner was warned his home could be destroyed if the device exploded. Pic: FPS Images
Hospital declares critical incident
On Thursday at 9pm, NHS Devon declared a critical incident over the Keyham bomb, with the health board – which includes Derriford Hospital – reassuring residents it is a “standard precautionary measure” to ensure it has the resources to deal with any potential aftermath of an explosion.
Plymouth City Council said in a statement: “Declaring critical incident status for the county’s health services can make it easier for local NHS partners to work together to take the necessary steps to manage NHS resources to meet local demands.”
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is “separately, experiencing severe pressures on their services currently”, the council added.
Image: Evacuated residents have been sheltering at village halls and gyms. Pic: Plymouth City Council
Image: No date for when residents can return to their homes has been set. Pic: PA
‘A very scary moment’
Sky News spoke to residents affected by the cordon, with a local mechanic from Wayne’s Mobile Mechanic Ltd saying “it’s been a very scary moment for myself, my wife and three children”.
When asked what the reaction of the community has been, he said: “It’s unbelievable and very scary as we live yards from the scene.”
Image: A local mechanic was evacuated with his wife and three children. Pic: Supplied
Plymouth saw more than 50 bombing attacks during the Second World War, and in 2011 an explosive device was unearthed by a workman at a building in Notte Street, near the city’s Hoe.
The device was made safe before it was moved to the seabed off Plymouth Sound, with an exclusion zone around it.
Sir Keir Starmer has urged anyone with information on the Jeffrey Epstein case to come forward after Andrew Mountbatten Windsor missed the deadline to appear in front of US Congress.
US legislators have criticised Andrew for what they describe as “silence” amid their probe into Epstein after he failed to respond to their request for an interview.
When asked about Andrew missing the deadline and whether the former princeshould help the case in any way he can, Sir Keir said on his way to the G20 summit in South Africa: “I don’t comment on this particular case.”
He added that “a general principle I’ve held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it”.
Andrew is not legally obliged to talk to Congress and has always vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
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Image: Sir Keir Starmer spoke to reporters on his way to the G20 in South Africa. Pic: Reuters
It comes as Marjorie Taylor Greene, a loyal supporter-turned-critic of US President Donald Trump, said on Friday she is resigning from Congress in January.
Ms Greene’s resignation followed a public falling-out with Mr Trump in recent months, as the congresswoman criticised him for his stance on files related to Epstein, as well as on foreign policy and healthcare.
Members of the House Oversight Committee had requested a “transcribed interview” with Andrew in connection with his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein, the paedophile financier who took his own life in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
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Releasing the Epstein files: How we got here
But after saying they had not heard back, Democrats Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam accused Andrew of hiding.
Their statement read: “Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s silence in the face of the Oversight Democrat’s demand for testimony speaks volumes.
“The documents we’ve reviewed, along with public records and Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s testimony, raise serious questions he must answer, yet he continues to hide.
“Our work will move forward with or without him, and we will hold anyone who was involved in these crimes accountable, no matter their wealth, status, or political party. We will get justice for the survivors.”
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The new Epstein files: The key takeaways
It follows Andrew being stripped of his prince and Duke of York titles earlier this month.
He had previously agreed to stop using his titles, but had expected to remain a prince and retain his dukedom, ahead of the publication of the memoirs of the late Ms Giuffre, who had accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager – an accusation he denies.
A 13-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman in Swindon.
Police said the teenager was detained following an incident in Baydon Close, Moredon, in the Wiltshire town on Friday evening.
Officers responded to reports of disorder inside a house. When they arrived, a woman in her 50s living at the address was found to be not breathing. She was declared dead at the scene.
There were no other reported injuries.
Image: Forensic officers are at the scene to collect evidence
Detective Inspector Darren Ambrose, from Wiltshire Police’s major crime investigation team, said: “This is a serious incident in which a woman has sadly died.
“We have set up a cordon at the address while an investigation is carried out.
“I can confirm that we have arrested a teenage girl in connection with this incident and we are not looking for anyone else.”
Police have asked people not to speculate about the incident online as this could prejudice the case.
A police statement read: “Residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area while we continue carrying out our enquiries into the woman’s death.
Rail fares are to be frozen for the first time in 30 years, the government has announced.
Ministers promised that millions of rail travellers will save hundreds of pounds on regulated fares, including season tickets and peak and off-peak returns between major cities.
The fare freeze applies to England and services run by English train operators.
People commuting to work three days a week using flexi-season tickets will save £315 a year travelling from Milton Keynes to London, £173 travelling from Woking to London and £57 from Bradford to Leeds, the government said.
The changes are part of Labour’s plans to rebuild a publicly owned Great British Railways. Other planned changes include tap in-tap out and digital ticketing, as well as investing in superfast Wi-Fi.
Image: The freeze applies to regulated fares, including season tickets and peak and off-peak returns. Pic: iStock
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government was introducing a freeze on rail fares for the first time in 30 years, which “will ease the pressure on household finances and make travelling to work, school or to visit friends and family that bit easier”.
“We all want to see cheaper rail travel, so we’re freezing fares to help millions of passengers save money,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.
“Commuters on more expensive routes will save more than £300 per year, meaning they keep more of their hard-earned cash.”
Rail unions and passenger groups welcomed the move, praising how it will make travel more affordable for passengers and promote more sustainable travel alternatives.
Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: “More affordable fares will encourage greater use of public transport, supporting jobs, giving a shot in the arm to local economies and helping to improve the environment.”
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the rail fare freeze “will be a huge relief to working people”.
“This is the right decision, at the right time, to help passengers be able to afford to make that journey they need to take, and to help grow our railway in this country, because the railway is Britain’s green alternative – taking cars and lorries off our congested roads and moving people and goods safely around our country in an environmentally-friendly way,” Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers union Aslef, said.
The Tories welcomed the move but said the government was “late to the platform”.
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said: “In government, the Conservatives kept fares on the right track with below-inflation rises and consistently called for no further hikes to protect hard-working commuters.”