Rotherham bomb: Army reveal details of wartime bomb that was fished out of canal and led to evacuations
The army has revealed details of a bomb that brought part of South Yorkshire to a standstill after it was fished out of a canal.
South Yorkshire Police put a 100m cordon in place after the alarming discovery, near Stonerow Way in Rotherham, close to the Parkgate tram stop.
Now, the army has told The Star exactly what was found to spark the alarm, which led to soldiers being sent to the scene on March 24.
The Army told The Star in a statement that they had sent the 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment to deal with the incient and added: “We can confirm an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team from Nottingham, 721 EOD Squadron was called out to Rotherham, at the request of South Yorkshire Police.
“A 3-inch Mortar was identified and disposed of by explosive demolition.”
A mortar bomb is a type of bomb that soldiers fire into the air towards their enemies out of a type of tube, called a mortar, on a battlefield.
South Yorkshire Police at the time had described the bomb as a suspected explosive device from the Second World War.
They said that they were called to the area around 2pm following a report of a suspected explosive device which had been found in the canal near Parkgate tram stop.
They said that the army had transported the device to a safe location and carried out a controlled explosion.
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