Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Second World War bomb found at Olympic training venue

 

Ella Pickover
Friday 16 March 2012 11:00 GMT
Comments
Going for gold: Hotels are raising prices for the 2012 Olympics
Going for gold: Hotels are raising prices for the 2012 Olympics (Reuters)

As time ticks down to the Olympic Games, workmen were forced to come to a standstill after discovering a Nazi bomb left over from the Blitz.

Officials said work stopped briefly on Wednesday after an incendiary device was found on the east London site.

An ordnance expert found the 1kg device at the site for temporary basketball-training courts in Leyton Marshes.

Bomb-disposal experts from Scotland Yard got rid of the unexploded weapon before work resumed, a 2012 official said.

An Olympic Delivery Authority spokesman said: "A small Second World War incendiary device, weighing around a kilogram, was safely removed yesterday from the site of a temporary Games-time basketball-training venue on Leyton Marsh.

"A routine scan of the site in early February detected metal underground and because of this an ordnance expert was appointed to oversee the start of works.

"Police were immediately contacted after the device was discovered and it was later removed by specialist officers."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in