This is the moment that a First World War bomb was detonated in Knaresborough.
The unexploded bomb was found in the River Nidd during a weekly litter pick by Simon Briscombe, whose partner Rachel Wills owns the Watermill cafe.
The couple wrapped the bomb, which they initially thought to be a gas canister, in sandbags at their home and dialled 101. The bomb squad, police and firefighters rushed to their home at The Chase.
Their house, along with about 30 others on the estate, was immediately evacuated while the bomb was taken to a nearby field and a controlled explosion carried out. The A59 was closed for about two hours.
Local resident Piers Ballance shot the footage below of the detonation in his friend Sam Darnbook’s field off the A59, opposite the Toyota garage.
Mr Ballance said the road was closed from Goldsborough roundabout to Manse Lane while the controlled explosion was carried out.
He said:
“We saw several police officers and army personnel at the site of the detonation.
“The explosion surprised us all as we did not expect it to be as loud. We felt the shockwave go through us.”
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Meanwhile, Ms Wills said her and her partner were left in shock after finding the bomb.
She said:
Bomb squad detonates First World War bomb in Knaresborough“We’re still in shock. If Simon had known what it was he wouldn’t have moved it.
“The police were horrified because he brought it home in the car and there are a lot of speed bumps in Knaresborough. But we didn’t know what it was.”
The bomb squad was called to Knaresborough this evening when an unexploded First World War bomb was found in the River Nidd.
Simon Briscombe, whose partner Rachel Wills owns the Watermill cafe, found what he initially thought to be a gas canister during a weekly litter pick.
But when he got home and cleaned the gunk off the item, which he found beneath Grimbald Bridge, he became suspicious.
The couple dialled 101 and after sending a photo, the bomb squad, police and firefighters rushed to their home at The Chase.
Rachel Wills and Simon Briscombe
Their house, along with about 30 others on the estate, was immediately evacuated while the bomb was taken away and a controlled explosion carried out nearby. The A59 was closed for about two hours.
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Ms Wills said:
“We’re still in shock. If Simon had known what it was he wouldn’t have moved it.
“The police were horrified because he brought it home in the car and there are a lot of speed bumps in Knaresborough. But we didn’t know what it was.”
The bomb was wrapped in sandbags at the couple’s home for about an hour until the bomb squad arrived.
The bomb wrapped in sandbags at the couple’s home.
Ms Wills said:
“We do litter picks on our own every week and have found some really strange things — last week we found a sewing machine from 1898. But we’ve never found a bomb.
“In a way I’m relieved that we found it rather than a group of kids.”
Police close the road.