Latest news with #MarkMather
BBC News
24-02-2025
- BBC News
Wooler playpark where 176 bombs were found closed until summer
A playpark where 176 bombs from World War Two were found will be closed for several months, a councillor says. The first of the practice devices, which still contain a charge, was discovered in Wooler, Northumberland, last month, followed by much larger Conservative councillor Mark Mather said the total cost of the clear-up was more than £40,000 and was "disappointed" the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would not pay for it. The MoD said its Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Regiment operated at "extremely high-readiness" where there was "an immediate risk to life". It is believed the area was used as a Home Guard training ground and the ordnance was buried at the end of the was discovered when work began to add a £150,000 fully inclusive playpark to the existing area in Scotts Park. "We've just about finished clearing the site now but there's a long way to go before we can reopen," Mather said."I'd like to thank the contractor Brimstone Site Investigations for their professionalism but I'm really disappointed in the MoD."We've had the cost of the survey, hiring a digger and now removing the ordnance but apparently the MoD has no mechanism to financially support us or remove the items themselves." Northumberland County Council has agreed to cover the cost of the operation to make the playpark safe. Mather hopes contractors will be back on site by April or May and would love to see the park reopen "on the first day of the summer holidays". In a statement, the MoD said: "The UK's EOD Regiment has supported the local authority in Wooler, advising them on how to safely remove any further ordnance."It added that the regiment "is a small unit, responding to requests across the country". Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nearly 200 Unexploded WWII Bombs Found Beneath Children's Playground In England
Children in the English town of Wooler in Northumberland are temporarily without a playground after workers found 176 unexploded World War II bombs buried underneath the play area. The first ordnance was discovered Jan. 14, when workers began expanding the play area and encountered what looked like a bomb while excavating the site. Northumberland County Councillor Mark Mather told Sky News they put a roughly 50-yard cordon around the site after the first bomb was unearthed and alerted the army. 'The army bomb disposal team came out to the first one on the first day, and then the second bomb, the next day,' Mather said. But as more of what he described as 'training devices' continued to crop up, the parish council had to hire an outside firm to fully examine the playground. Brimstone Site Investigations, a bomb disposal company, found more than 150 bombs over the next two days. The Wooler Parish Council described the ordnance as 'practice bombs' in a news release but clarified that despite the term they still pose a threat to children, as they've been found with their fuses intact, along with a 'detonator burster and smoke filling.' The council told the BBC that Wooler formerly hosted a Home Guard training center. After the war, apparently, they disposed of their ordnance by burying it in several pits ― pits that later became part of Scotts Park. 'It's quite something to think the children have been playing on bombs and it's been a really challenging situation,' Mather told the BBC. 'We've only cleared about a third of all the park, and we could still find another pit with more bombs in.' American Tourists Try To Board Plane With Unexploded Bomb Man Reports 'Unexploded WWII Bomb' That Turns Out To Be Zucchini Massive Crater In German Cornfield Likely Caused By WWII Bomb Unexploded WWII Shell Found Feet From Japan Bullet Train
New York Times
11-02-2025
- General
- New York Times
More Than 150 World War II Bombs Found Under Playground in England
More than 150 bombs from World War II have been found under a children's playground in northern England, with concerns that more may remain, officials said. The bombs were discovered as a construction project was underway to renovate the Scotts Park playground in Wooler, a small town in Northumberland, England, that is near the border with Scotland. BBC reported that workers had found a 'suspicious object' on Jan. 14 while digging foundations. It turned out to be a practice bomb, or a nonexplosive bomb that is used for training but can still be harmful. The Wooler Parish Council enlisted Brimstone Site Investigations, a company that specializes in unexploded ordnance, to investigate the site, council officials said in a news release. Brimstone arrived on Jan. 23 for what was supposed to be a two-day survey, 'but it soon became apparent that the scale of the problem was far greater than anyone had anticipated,' the parish council wrote. On the first day, Brimstone identified an additional 65 practice bombs, each weighing 10 pounds, as well as smoke cartridges. On the second day of work at the site, Brimstone recovered an additional 90 practice bombs and safely removed them to a designated storage area, the council wrote. The BBC reported that the Ministry of Defense had ordered a full survey of the site. Though the bombs are practice bombs, 'they do still carry a charge' and require removal by specialists, the parish council's release said, adding, 'These have been found with their fuse and contents still intact — and the detonator burster and smoke filling in particular can still be potentially hazardous.' A spokesperson for the Northumberland County Council called the discovery 'unexpected.' Mark Mather, an official in Wooler, told the BBC that about a third of the park had been cleared and it was possible there were more bombs. 'It's quite something to think the children have been playing on bombs,' Mr. Mather said. Mr. Mather said that Wooler had been a training center for the Home Guard, a volunteer citizen militia considered the last line of defense against the Germans during World War II. 'After the war, it looked like they just buried all the ordnance in one of the pits,' Mr. Mather said. The Ministry of Defense said that a team had visited the site twice in January, the BBC reported, but it did not offer further details. The Wooler Parish Council said it hoped contractors could resume work in April once the site had been declared safe. Brimstone, the Ministry of Defense, Mr. Mather, the Wooler Parish Council and the Northumberland County Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
More than 170 WWII bombs discovered under UK playground
***Video above: A look inside $2.3 million World War II era manor in Upper Arlington*** WOOLER, U.K. (WJW) – More than 170 World War II bombs have reportedly been discovered underneath a children's playground in England over the past month. As reported by, the BBC and other news outlets, the first practice bomb was found on Jan. 14 by excavation crews who were making way for an inclusive play area at Scotts Park in Wooler, Northumberland. What Ohio law says about dogs being kept outside during the winter Investigators said the site used to be a military training ground and the bomb, still carrying a charge, was likely buried there after World War II, the BBC reported. On Jan. 23, Brimstone Site Investigations surveyed the area to find out if more bombs were buried under the playground, but according to the Wooler Parish Council, 'it soon became apparent that the scale of the problem was far greater than anyone had anticipated.' On the first day of the search, investigators found 65 more practice bombs with smoke cartridges nearby. The 10-pound bombs were discovered 'with their fuse and contents still intact,' the council said. Investigators carefully recovered the explosives and took them to a safe storage area. An additional 90 practice bombs were found and recovered on the second day of the search, the council said. The Wooler Parish Council said the work couldn't be completed within the two-day survey, pointing out that 'further deployment would be necessary.' West Park Elementary School in Ravenna to close permanently As reported by the BBC, a total of 176 bombs have been recovered from the playground site, as of Sunday, Feb. 9. 'It's quite something to think the children have been playing on bombs and it's been a really challenging situation,' Councillor Mark Mather told the BBC. The investigation is expected to continue through at least mid-February, the BBC reported. The Wooler Parish Council announced in December that Scotts Park is closed to the public for renovations. The park was expected to reopen for Easter 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sky News
10-02-2025
- General
- Sky News
Dozens of unexploded Second World War bombs discovered at playpark
Workers constructing a playpark in Northumberland have uncovered close to 200 unexploded Second World War bombs. It's thought the area in Wooler was used as a Home Guard training ground and the munitions, which still contain a charge, were buried there at the end of the war. Councillor Mark Mather from Northumberland County Council, who also sits on Wooler Parish Council, told Sky News' Sarah-Jane Mee about the discovery on The UK Tonight. He said they got a call on 14 January from the contractors saying "they thought they'd discovered a bomb". "We had to put a 50-metre cordon around the site," he said. "The army bomb disposal team came out to the first one on the first day, and then the second bomb, the next day." After that, they were told they would need to hire a private contractor - who found 65 bombs on their first day of work and another 90 the next. "We're up to 176 of these [bombs], between nine and 11 and a half pound training devices." He said as they still carry a charge they have to be treated as "potentially hazardous" live devices. Work is continuing to make the site safe and the council plans to complete the playpark. "We're going to make sure that once the team leave that we have a certificate to say that park's 100% safe," Mr Mather said. The cost of hiring contractors to remove the devices is not cheap and brought extra concerns for the parish council, which Mr Mather sits on. He said that the project to safely remove the munitions is estimated between £30,000 and 40,000, and Northumberland County Council have stepped in to fund the work. And Mr Mather warned there is the potential for more finds of Second World War bombs and artefacts. "We just don't know," he said, adding there was concern "different types of explosives or... World War Two memorabilia" could be found as the works continued.
