School evacuated after possible WWII bomb found at building site

Parents were told to collect their children from St Peter and St Paul C of E School in Buckhurst Road at around 2.15pm after contractors Gem Select unearthed the device at Hollenden House, which backs onto the school's playing field.

Police placed a 200m cordon around the area, blocking off Buckhurst Road and the junction of Station Road and Cranfield Road, only allowing parents through to collect their children.

Detective Inspector Owen Poplett, the officer in charge of the case, said: "The builders were removing some soil at the site using a mechanical digger, when they uncovered a metal object around two feet in length.

"They stopped and looked at it and thought something wasn't right.

"The school took the decision to call the parents to pick up their children, who finished lessons early.

"The children had been moved to the furthest area away from the site.

"Three old peoples' homes in the area also took the precaution of moving their residents to another building."

Police called the bomb disposal team to take a look at the device, which is likely to be destroyed in a controlled explosion.