Doncaster Roberts Road bomb scare: Pictures show army on Edlington estate after wartime shell found

The Royal Logistics Corps bomb disposal squad was called out to a house on Roberts Road, in Edlington, Doncaster, after an unexploded First World War munition was discovered, with homes evacuated nearby.

One resident said they understood a resident had found a tin in their shed and taken it into their house into his property not realising what it was – then calling the police as soon as they realised.

One resident said she lived just outside the evacuation zone – but decided to get out anyway.

She was woken up by a knock on the door from a policeman at 9am on Saturday morning. He told her not to worry, but he needed to discuss an issue with one of the neighbouring houses just behind hers.

She said: “The two houses next to the address who found the war shell were evacuated, but thankfully we were still at a safe enough distance to stay in our house and the police said they would let us know immediately if we needed to leave, for our safety.

"We left anyway.”

"It was quite worrying really, as at the time we weren't aware what the explosive was as police were just reacting to a report of an explosive and couldn't tell us much due to the nature of the incident – they just reassured us they would keep us safe and informed at all times.

"I'd say that was the worst part really, was not knowing what the explosive was and just hoping our neighbours and ourselves would be OK.

"It was a case of trying to keep calm, and have trust in the police and bomb disposal that we would be OK and minimal disturbances were caused.”

She said residents checked on elderly neighbours who may have been scared or worried.

She said she was not aware of any old military bases or depots having been near the houses historically, but said she had heard of a Lancaster bomber going down in Old Edlington, according to local history.

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South Yorkshire Police said they were called out to Roberts Road at 8.05am on Saturday, April 30.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said the specialist team and police were called out ‘by a member of the public to report that an unexploded First World War shell had been discovered’.

Residents were evacuated from their homes and a cordon was put in place at the scene while the shell was removed for disposal at a safe place.

The statement added: “We thank the community for their patience and for evacuating their properties while the cordon was in place and the bomb disposal team carried out their work.

"The cordon was removed at about 12.30pm.”