DISCOVERY of what was thought to have been an unexploded World War II bomb caused huge traffic jams as a part of a busy Sheffield suburb was sealed-off in rush hour.
Streets near Leppings Lane, Hillsborough, were put under cordon while an Army bomb disposal team was sent to the bank of the River Don to make the object safe.
The alert happened at about 3.30pm yesterday after the suspicious item was spotted during a ‘routine inspection’ near the Leppings Lane bridge over the river.
As well as causing frustration for commuters, the incident left people living in the surrounding area having difficulty reaching their homes.
Jane Davidson, who lives just off Leppings Lane, was out when the suspicious object was found.
Speaking yesterday afternoon, she said: “My nephew told me about it after he read something on the internet.
“I can get to my house but it’s massively out of the way, a really long walk round and I only live on this first street nearest the cordon tape so it’s frustrating.”
Another resident who was forced to divert her route home was Tracey Marsland.
She said: “All we’ve been told is that they’ve found a suspicious object and that we can’t get through.”
A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “Officers attended the riverbank of the River Don, near Leppings Lane, Hillsborough, due to being alerted by Sheffield Council to an incident during a routine inspection.
“The incident involved what was believed to have been an unexploded device.
“The Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called to attend and nearby roads were closed while an inspection was carried out.”
Soldiers were called to the scene from Chilwell Barracks, near Nottingham.
An Army spokeswoman said: “A unit was sent to the scene and found that the item was not ammunition-related so the incident is being put down as a false alarm.”
The cordon was lifted by police at about 5.45pm.
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