Homes evacuated after wartime shell found in garden

HOMES were evacuated after a resident found an unexploded wartime shell in a neighbour’s garden in Fawley.

The discovery at an address in Heather Road was reported just after 11am last Wednesday, and police helped clear those living nearby.

Royal Navy explosives experts were sent and later confirmed the device as a 105mm artillery shell.

It was taken to Selsey, where the team had been called to deal with another incident, and destroyed in a controlled explosion at Bracklesham Bay.

The cordon was lifted in Fawley and residents were allowed to return to their homes by around 2pm.

A post afterwards on the Waterside Cops Facebook page thanked residents for their patience while its officers and Lyndhurst response and patrol teams responded to the incident.

The post continued: “Thanks also to our colleagues from the Royal Navy bomb disposal team who have attended and quickly resolved the situation allowing restrictions to be lifted and the small number of residents evacuated to return home promptly.”