A HIGH school was evacuated after workmen unearthed a wartime bomb.

John Howard

A HIGH school was evacuated after workmen unearthed a wartime bomb.

The shell was discovered by workers undertaking a construction project near Notley High School, Braintree in Essex, not far from The Rifleman pub which was bombed during the war.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “Excavation work was being carried out in a field at the rear of the high school in Notley Road, a shell shaped bomb was unearthed and was on a pile of mud that had been dug up.

“There was a function on at the school, a drama do, and we sent police and support officers to evacuate the school.

“The shell was far enough back not to cause a danger to the road or other houses and so no houses were evacuated and there was no need to shut the road.

“The logistics corps attended, we sent them pictures in advance so they were prepared, but it was not exploded on site. The corps managed to take it away safely and it is believed to have been possibly been from World War II.”

No-one was hurt during the incident involving the shell, which measured 14 inches long by three inches wide, after its discovery at about 4.15pm on Friday.