More than 170 bombs from World War II were discovered underneath a children’s playground in northern England, officials said, and it is believed that more will be unearthed.
The first of the bombs – which still contained a charge – were discovered at the playground in Wooler, Northumberland in January, CBS News partner BBC reported. A total of 176 bombs have now been found so far and experts fear more will be unearthed, according to the BBC.
The playground was in the process of being updated when staff found a suspicious object while digging the foundation.
“It’s quite something to think the children have been playing on bombs and it’s been a really challenging situation,” local councilor Mark Mather told the BBC.
The Wooler Parish Council said in a statement that Brimstone Site Investigations was hired to survey the playground and that it quickly became apparent that the “scale of the problem was far greater than anyone had anticipated.”
Officials said 65 practice bombs weighing about 10 pounds each were found in an area of less than 10 square meters. Smoke cartridges were recovered from the same pit.
Another 90 practice bombs were found in about a 20 square feet area.
“Due to the large amount of ordnance buried, the site survey could not be completed in the anticipated 2 days and a further deployment would be necessary,” officials said in a statement.
It is believed the area where the playground was initially built was used as a Home Guard training ground and the bombs were buried at the end of the war, the BBC reported.
“I never thought as a parish councilor I’d be dealing with bomb disposal,” Mather told the news outlet.
According to Mather, work to dispose of the bombs is anticipated to continue at least through the middle of February.
He said it was not immediately clear who would pay for all the work but that the Northumberland County Council agreed to cover the cost.
“The Army will not support us in any way, either looking for the ordnance or removing it, which has been extremely disappointing,” Mather told the BBC.
The Ministry of Defense confirmed to the BBC that a team attended the site twice in January but did not speak to the local council’s claims.
“Clearly this find was unexpected but we are pleased to have been able to find the extra funding to allow this crucial work to be done safely,” a spokesperson for the county council said in a statement.
Unexploded bombs from World War II have detonated without warning before. Last October, a bomb dropped by the U.S. during the war exploded at an airport in Japan, causing a large crater on a runway. In 2023, a World War II bomb exploded in Great Yarmouth, England, in what authorities called an “unplanned” detonation.
