World War II bomb found at London building site

Around 50 people have been forced to leave their homes after an unexploded World War II bomb was unearthed in north-west London.

Emergency services were called to a building site on The Avenue, Queen's Park, at 11.30am yesterday following the discovery of the 500lb device by Regal Homes property developers preparing to build a block of flats.

Locals living within a 220yds radius of the find were told to leave their homes. Several businesses, as well as Marylebone Boys' School, were also evacuated.

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Headteacher Richard Ardron told the Brent & Kilburn Times: "The first we knew about it was when the builders next door said they had found something suspicious and had called the police and were awaiting what they said.

"Next thing, we had the police coming, who said it looks really suspicious and we need to evacuate the building."

An Army bomb disposal team is working to make the bomb safe, something that will be a "major operation", say police.

The exclusion zone "is expected to be widened by an extra 300 metres [320yds] today amid fears work to disable the dustbin-size device could take several days", the London Evening Standard reports.

Many residents spent the day at St Martin's Church in Kensal Green before spending the night at a nearby Holiday Inn.

One local told the BBC that as London was bombed heavily in the war, "these things do happen" -but "it's just now inconveniencing me massively".

Another said: "I understand it's for security reason but it's just annoying."

A spokesman for Regal Homes said: "Excavations on site at The Avenue, Queen's Park, have unearthed an object of concern.

"The health and safety of our team and our neighbours is of course our primary consideration and Regal Homes is cooperating fully with the authorities who are investigating the situation."