Soho evacuated for second consecutive day after another part of Second World War bomb found

Evacuations taking place on Dean Street, Richmond Mews, Meard Street and St Anne's Court

Kate Ng
Tuesday 04 February 2020 15:35 GMT
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Police are cordoning off roads in Soho to deal with the unexploded WWII bomb
Police are cordoning off roads in Soho to deal with the unexploded WWII bomb

Another part of a World War II bomb has been discovered in Soho, prompting road closures and evacuations in parts of the area for the second day in a row.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman confirmed they are "dealing with the suspected unexploded device at this stage", which was first uncovered on Monday.

Anyone on Dean Street, Richmond Mews, Meard Street and St Anne's Court is currently being evacuated by police.

The Met Police team for Soho said on Twitter: "Another part of yesterday's WW2 ordnance has been discovered. Further road closures are going to be implemented shortly.

"We apologise for the inconvenience and understand the disruption caused however these closures will likely be in place until the end of this incident," they added in another tweet.

The first part of the ordnance was brought to police attention on Monday, when they were called to Dean Street at 1.42pm.

Oxford Street, Charing Cross Road, Shaftesbury Avenue, Lexington Street and Poland Street were cordoned off while police assessed the situation.

It was removed by the British Army and the cordons were lifted at around 8.40pm.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence said after the incident: "An Army explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team has been called out to Soho to support the Metropolitan Police after discovery of a 500kg Second World War device.

"The Army EOD team have confirmed the bomb was safe to remove overnight to a location where it will be detonated."

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