Student digs up suspected wartime bomb in garden

Aaron Gibson was digging up earth to make room for a shed when he found the bomb

A Dalbeattie student has said his gardening days are over after digging up a suspected wartime bomb.

Aaron Gibson, a 21-year-old social work graduate, made the discovery on Saturday afternoon.

He found himself at the centre of a major incident when digging up earth to clear space for a shed.

It ended up with his High Street neighbours being evacuated, police officers taking over his kitchen for the night and bomb disposal officers removing his find.

Bomb disposal experts were called out to deal with the discovery

"We were digging when I saw this bit of metal," said Aaron.

"I tried to pull it out but it was well stuck because it was under a big tree root.

"It looked like the kind of metal a whirly-gig gets fitted into so I got down on my knees and was pulling and pulling - when it suddenly came flying out and landed on top of me."

He quickly realised it was something potentially much more dangerous.

"Then I could see instantly what it was - it was two feet long and very heavy, and was definitely a bomb," he said.

"I shouted for some help, but none of my neighbours were in so I lay there for a few minutes wondering if this thing was going to explode if I moved and I'd be left in a million pieces.

"I calmed down a bit and then just threw it to one side and ran inside."

Aaron said he pulled the bomb out and it landed on top of him

He then phoned the police and was "quite shocked" to discover that it really was a bomb.

"A while later the bomb squad from the Royal Navy arrived from Faslane, and they said it was too dark and wet for them to properly investigate it, so the poor police spent the night camped out in my kitchen watching this bomb," he said.

"The bomb disposal guys came back in the morning and evacuated all my neighbours, X-rayed it and scanned all over my garden to look for other devices.

"They did find another part of it - and then took it to Faslane for testing.

"They struggled to identify what kind it was but said it was from World War Two."

Aaron said his nerves had just about settled after the incident.

"It was really scary at the time and I definitely think I was in shock for a couple of days," he said.

"Now I think it's quite funny, with everyone asking me all about it.

"But, definitely, there'll not be anything else dug in that garden. I'm not a gardener as it is - but I certainly won't be back out there putting plants in now!"

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Police Scotland confirmed it had been called out to a property on Dalbeattie High Street at about 14:50 on Saturday.

A cordon was put in place and a number of neighbouring properties evacuated as a precaution before the bomb was removed.

The Royal Navy said disposal experts based at Faslane had been sent to the incident.

A spokesperson added: "The bomb disposal officer was able to determine that the item did not present an explosive hazard and removed it from the scene for disposal."

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