Residents return to their homes after Willesden bomb removed

Photo: Rupert Frere

 

The bomb was disposed of at the Shoeburyness Range near Southend

 From Brent Council

The 500Ib World War II bomb, which was discovered in Brondesbury Park yesterday (March 2nd), has been safely removed by bomb disposal experts, the army has confirmed.

The huge device was removed safely this evening (March 3) and hundreds of affected residents are returning to their homes within the 300 metre exclusion zone.

Police were called to The Avenue, near the junction of Willesden Lane, at around 11.30am on Thursday after builders unearthed the device while digging a basement car park for a new block of flats

Army bomb disposal experts were scrambled while hundreds of people, including school children and OAPs, were evacuated. Some were briefly allowed back into the exclusion zone to collect clothes, medicines and emergency supplies.

78 people who were unable to stay with friends or family were put up in a local hotel by Brent Council overnight. The council also organised a rest centre at a nearby church, during the day on Thursday and Friday, where evacuees were looked after by council officers and volunteers from the Red Cross.

Local resident Carole Hutchinson, who attended the rest centre, said:

We got lots of help from the Red Cross and the people from Brent Council at the shelter. They have been keeping us well-fed and watered. My husband was evacuated during the war and was telling me to hurry up all the time to get out, as he knows how much damage a bomb can do. He came back for the blitz. He was evacuated at the start of the war and they thought it was all quiet and calm and they all came back and then he stayed in London.       
           
I actually met three or four neighbours who I've never met before which has been really nice. It's been a blitz spirit, definitely. Everyone has been very kind and generous with food and lots of cups of tea from the Red Cross, so it's been wonderful from that point of view.

The exclusion zone around the device was widened this morning while army experts dismantled the explosive.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said:

The blitz spirit of the community is alive and well in Brent and my thanks go to all of the residents who showed such great patience and humour in the face of adversity while the army experts did their job.

I would also like to thank our partners in the Army, Police, Fire Brigade and Red Cross as well as council colleagues who worked tirelessly throughout the night to help sort this out.

We’re a resilient lot in Brent and I am immensely proud of how everyone responded.

Unexploded bombs are still being found across London following the Blitz, which was the most intense bombing campaign Britain has ever seen.

School and road closures today as army tackles the Willesden bomb

Extended cordon area

The following schools will be closed all day today:

• Brondesbury College For Boys
• Al-Sadiq and Al-Zahra
• Christ Church CofE Primary School
• Islamia Primary School
• Malorees Infant School
• Malorees Junior School
• North West London Jewish Day School
• Marylebone Boys' School
• Salusbury Primary School
• Islamia Girls' Secondary School

This is the list of roads within the cordon that will be extended today.

• St. Hilda's close
• Manor House Drive south
• Christchurch Avenue between St Hilda's Close and Mowbray Road
• The Avenue between Tiverton Green and Mowbray Road
• Brondesbury Park between Coverdale Road and Chevening Road
• Wilesden Lane between Coverdale Road and Winchester
• Avenue Mowbray Road between Chevening Road and Willesden Lane
• Winchester Avenue between Chevening Road and Willesden Lane Dyne Road between
• Willesden Lane and Torbay Road Cavendish Road between The Avenue and Mowbray Road
• Mapesbury Road between Willesden Lane and Mowbury Road

The bomb  by torchlight (Brent MPS)

The Army bomb disposal squad will be continuing their work today and this will mean extending the cordon to around 300 metres. At the moment it looks likely that this will happen from around 9am this morning. The police will be knocking on the doors of those who will be affected.

UPDATE: Army at scene of WW2 bomb alert in Brondesbury Park - info for residents affected

Photo by Aparna Maladkar (via Twitter)

Photo  (Brent Council)

From Brent Council

2nd March 2017 

Brent Council are advising people who live within the cordon above to not return home. List of addresses affected HERE  Rest Centre St Martin's Church on Mortimer Road. Helpline 020 8937 5788

UPDATE 2 March 2017 19.22 Work in the area is likely to go on until at least Friday afternoon.

 

UPDATE 2 March 2017 - 17.25pm: The army have now arrived on the scene. We will update you as soon as they finish making their assessments. #brentalerts

Emergency services have been called to 3-6 The Avenue in Brondesbury Park NW6, near the junction of Willesden Lane, to a suspected unexploded WWII bomb. Officers from the Police, Fire Brigade and Council are all on the scene.

A 200 metre cordon is in place and two schools within the area - Malorees Junior School and Marylebone Boys' School – have been evacuated.

There are road closures in the area which are causing disruption and residents are advised to avoid the area.

Due to the nature of the bomb, only the army are trained to deal with it and a team is currently on their way to the site.

The council's emergency planning team have set up a rest centre at St Martin’s Church on Mortimer Road, Kensal Green, with buses ready to transport residents should it be required once the army has evaluated the situation.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, says:

Council officers are currently making arrangements for our residents in the Willesden Lane area to make their way to a rest centre where they will be looked after until it is safe to return to their homes.

I would like to thank these residents who have shown great patience during this time. We will continue to provide updates on the situation as soon as they come through.

Search #brentalerts onTwitter for updates

First pictures of the Wembley bomb

British Army Phootographer Rupert Frere has circulated these pictures of the Wembley bomb via Twitter (@Rupert_Frere #WembleyBomb).  Work is going on to defusethe bomb which was found on a building site close to the Civic Centre yesterday.

The Civic Centre will be closed on Friday with skeleton services run from the Bridge Park Leisure Centre.

This is a map of where bombs fell in the area during the London Blitz 7th October 1940 to 6th June 1941. There was additional bombing outside this period of course.

Source LINK

Brent Civic Centre closed tomorrow for controlled explosion of World War 2 bomb - residents' rest centre at Chalkhill Community Centre

Brent Council has issued the following statement about the unexploded Worls War II  bomb found near the Civic Centre:

You may have already heard that Police were called at around 3pm today to a building site on Empire Way, Wembley, to reports of an unexploded device believed to be from World War 2.

It was discovered by builders working at the location and it is believed to weigh approximately 50kg. Road closures along with a 400m cordon is in place around the site which includes the Civic Centre, whilst work is underway to make safe the device.

As a precaution, a number of residential and business addresses have also been evacuated, including residents of Alexander Court and Ada Lewis House. At this stage we do not know exactly how long this incident is likely to last however, a rest centre has been set up at Chalkhill Community Centre for affected residents.

Brent Civic Centre will be closed all day on Friday 22 May as the council has been advised that bomb disposal experts are planning a controlled explosion at some stage tomorrow morning. Business continuity plans are being activated to ensure vital council services keep running although these may be skeleton services in some cases.

Employees who are able to work from home are being advised to do so, unless your line manager has told you otherwise. Some core staff will need to be based at Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre on Friday and your line manager will talk to you if are required. If you are unable to work from home on Friday you are advised not to come to the Civic Centre as it will not be open.

A gold group, chaired by the Chief Executive, has been activated and we will update you with more information about the impact on services when we know more. An emergency phone line is also being set up and live updates will be available on the council website and twitter feed as we get them.

Follow @Brent_Council on Twitter for updates