Surveyors 'pretty sure' WW2 bombs remain in field

Surveyors have said they have likely identified three out of four unexploded World War Two bombs in a field in Guernsey.

The company is still on the search for the existence of the fourth at the site in St Peter Port, but said they expected to be finished by the end of this week.

Simone Cooke, the managing director of the company, said the suspected ordnances did not "present an immediate hazard" unless anyone interfered with them with a "great deal of energy or force", which is he said was "unlikely" at their depth.

Mr Cooke said the survey system they used was "pretty accurate" but in order to verify that they were unexploded bombs, they would have to be excavated and visually identified.

He added the types of ordnance being sought were British 2000lb (about 900kg) armour piercing bombs.

The States of Guernsey contracted 6 Alpha Associates to inspect the fields next to Route Isabelle, after islanders raised concerns a previous survey had not looked deep enough for bombs.

The original survey in 2019 went as deep as 4m (13ft), but the latest survey indicates they could be at a depth of about 8m (26ft).

The company will hand over the details to the States to discuss the route the government wishes to take.

Mr Cooke said if it was decided they would be detonated, the bombs would "stay in situ" and be detonated beneath the ground.

He added there was "some risk" in digging down to the bombs but, again, they would have to be struck with a lot of force to set them off.

"We've got ex-military bomb disposal technicians that know what they're doing and have been trained to deal with this sort of thing and they'll make sure they don't do that" Mr Cooke said.

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