Buried Munitions Cache Found In Residential Garden

St. Margarets, United Kingdom construction workers digging in the garden of a residential lot uncovered a small cache of munitions. The workers called the police who responded with a Royal Army EOD from Shornecliffe Barracks. EOD identified the munitions as live anti-tank grenades (quantity not reported) and another dozen WWII era mortar shells. Fifty rounds of small arms ammunition was also found buried in the garden.

Several nearby homes were evacuated while EOD conducted a controlled detonation to dispose of the munitions. The resulting explosion reportedly broke several windows in a nearby residential house that had been evacuated. Another UXO item was uncovered when EOD conducted a second sweep of the area the following morning after the controlled detonation. The area reportedly was once used as an officer's mess and a stable during the 1940's. Sometime during the military use of the property, munitions were disposed of in the area through burial, a practice that is illegal today.