Wartime bomb removed close to railway tracks near Ilkley Station after police called to the scene

Bomb disposal officers have found what is suspected to be a wartime bomb near to the trainline in West Yorkshire.
By Susie Beever
Published 26th Jul 2021, 13:25 BST
Updated 26th Jul 2021, 14:40 BST
The scene near Ilkley as police cordoned off an area following the discovery of a suspected wartime mortar shell near to train tracks. Picture: BTPThe scene near Ilkley as police cordoned off an area following the discovery of a suspected wartime mortar shell near to train tracks. Picture: BTP
The scene near Ilkley as police cordoned off an area following the discovery of a suspected wartime mortar shell near to train tracks. Picture: BTP

British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed the shell was located and removed after Network Rail issued a statement earlier on Monday morning about the ongoing incident.

Police cordoned off the area near to the railway tracks between Ilkley and Guiseley following reports of the discovery.

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The mortar shell has since been removed and taken away by experts trained in handling undetonated explosives.

Network Rail issued a brief statement on the incident, saying "a suspected wartime bomb has been found near the railway in Ilkley".

The incident resulted in the line being temporarily closed, leading to major delays and cancellations. Disruption was expected to continue until 1pm, a spokesperson for Northern said.

A spokesperson for BTP said: "We've responded to reports of a mortar shell being found close to the line in Ilkley this morning.

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"Specialist officers have attended and this has now been removed."

The discovery is the second incident involving a wartime explosive being found in Yorkshire in recent days, after a bomb dating from WW2 was found by construction workers near to the M62 between Howden and Goole on Friday.

It is thought the bomb may have come from a Lancaster Bomber.Officers from Humberside Police and an army explosive team were called to the scene on Friday evening, resulting in the motorway being closed for nearly 24 hours.

An image was released on Saturday of the bomb being detonated safely in a field, before the motorway was re-opened to the public.

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