Plymouth city centre roads closed as WWII bomb found

A cordon was set up around the scene

An unexploded World War II bomb discovered in Plymouth city centre is being moved out to sea to be destroyed.

A workman unearthed the device at about 1625 GMT while working at a building in Notte Street, near the city's Hoe.

A 100m (330ft) cordon was set up and properties in nearby streets were evacuated, plus the city's Holiday Inn.

The Royal Navy, whose bomb disposal experts have worked on making the device safe, said it was "likely" to be destroyed on Thursday afternoon.

Road closures

Properties in Notte Street, Hoe Street and Zion Street were evacuated by police and people were taken to the Plymouth Pavilions leisure complex which was being used as a rest centre, police said.

The Holiday Inn had been almost at its capacity with most of its 190 rooms booked. The hotel said about 235 guests had been expected on Wednesday night.

Some people staying at the hotel were taken to the city's Duke of Cornwall Hotel.

Police established a command centre in the Guildhall car park nearby.

The bomb disposal team drilled into the device and filled it with an inert liquid to make it safe to transport, the Royal Navy said.

A police escort was to accompany the navy team to bring the ordnance to the Millbay area on Wednesday night, from where it would be taken out to sea, it added.

The bomb, which was discovered by a demolition contractor, was found on the same building site where another explosive device was discovered in November.

The navy confirmed it was the same the type of device.

Police said they would get people back home "as soon as it was safe to do so".