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Video: Unexploded war time bomb found in Leeds
A mechanical digger driver has told how he dug up an unexploded bomb while working on a Leeds building site.
Kevin Thompson saw the dirt-covered shell in the steel bucket of his orange digger as he levelled land on the site off Goodman Street in Hunslet.
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The 45-year-old from York coolly tipped the explosive out on to the ground before raising the alarm just after 10.30am yesterday.
He told the YEP: "I was clearing the ground when the shell appeared in the bucket.
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"I tipped it out. It was about the size of a big flask and bomb-shaped.
Cordite
"I've dug up shells before on other sites so I knew what one looked like.
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"You could see the white cordite in the end of it which meant it hadn't exploded. I just left it where it was and got out of the way.
"They evacuated the site, which was all right for me because I had my car keys but a lot of the lads left theirs in the cabin so they couldn't go home."
Police cordoned off roads surrounding the area, next to the River Aire and close to Knostrop Cut.
They evacuated nearby buildings.
Officers were also stationed at the entrances to footpaths to stop the public getting through.
Steve Cunniff, general manager of Tetley's Coaches whose garages are based off Goodman Street, said: "We've got a yard at the back next to Yarn Street and the bomb was over the other side of our wall. We managed to get all the coaches out and our drivers on their way."
Sergeant Christopher Fowler, who led the police operation, said: "The shell was about a foot long and three inches in diameter.
"It was possibly a World War Two bomb. It's been in the ground a long time."
Army bomb disposal officers were called to the scene and covered the shell with sand before carrying out a controlled explosion just after 1.30pm.
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The explosion could be heard across the river and a cloud of smoke drifted across the building site, where homes are being built.
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -9 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to -1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
