How 177 bombs came to rest under a children's playground in England
It happened after Steven Parkinson, a local builder, had been tasked with digging up Scotts Park in the town after the parish council secured a grant for the renovation of the play area.
As he set to work on January 14, a 'suspicious' object caught his eye. He alerted Kerren Rodgers, the clerk of the parish council, who was equally baffled.
'Dealing with a suspected bomb in a playground is not exactly something they cover in the clerk's manual,' she told the BBC adding that the authorities had nevertheless cordoned off the playground and an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called.
The team, dispatched from Catterick Garrison, confirmed the object to be an unexploded bomb from the World War II.
Whispers soon spread through the quiet northern town, though the council sought to reassure locals that there was no reason to be worried. Little did anyone know that this bomb would be the first of many.
Brimstone, a company specialising in removing wartime ordnance, was called in to start 'delicate hand digging' and soon found another device.
On the first day, 65 bombs were found, stacked in rows, followed by 90 more, each weighing about 4.5 kilograms. Overall, 177 bombs were unearthed on the site.
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