‘What damage is going to be done to our homes?’

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

‘What damage is going to be done to our homes?’

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==BBC

Stephanie O’Fee lives near to the side where the ***** was discovered

A planned controlled ********** at a housing estate where a suspected World War Two ***** was discovered is causing “a lot of anxiety,” one resident has said.

Stephanie O’Fee lives very close to the site where the 500kg (1,100lb) device was found in Newtownards, County Down.

Her

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

which were evacuated by police on Sunday, for an expected ******* of five days.

“It is a huge concern, what are we going to go back to? Will there be much of the house standing?” Ms O’Fee said.

Homes evacuated in 400m radius data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Soldiers are using diggers to pile sand on top of the device ahead of a planned controlled **********

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

The police have not yet confirmed what type of explosive has been found but Belfast and its surroundings were heavily bombed by Germany in 1941.

World War Two munitions are found across Northern Ireland from time to time, but they rarely cause this level of disruption to people living nearby.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme, Ms O’Fee said the situation was “very, very nerve-wracking”.

“My house is very close, so obviously there are concerns – what damage is going to be done to our homes?” she said.

The Newtownards resident has lived at Rivenwood for two years and said it was her first home.

She said she noticed police cars in the development on Friday but only found out about the evacuation plan when an officer knocked on her door at about 20:00 BST on Saturday.

She and her neighbours were told that all homes and businesses with a 400m radius should be evacuated by 10:00 on Sunday.

A leaflet from police distributed to residents said that a “sizeable item of historic explosive ordnance” had been found in the estate.

The Blair Mayne leisure centre in Ards has been set up as an emergency support centre for affected residents.

“I was asking the police: ‘What can we do to secure our homes to prepare them as best as possible to keep them secure?” Ms O’Fee said.

“We didn’t have very good communication if I’m honest, but I do understand they are in a tough situation.”

Ms O’Fee, who is starting a new job on Monday, had to quickly find somewhere to stay herself as well as securing temporary accommodation for her two cats.

“It has been a big upheaval but there are people who are much worse affected than me of course,” she said.

“Luckily I have no young children or anything, but I can’t imagine the stress that would have on young families trying to find somewhere to go. “

Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon told BBC News NI if the ***** went off it would be “devastating”.

“The Army ***** disposal unit will be very proactive and very positive, their job is to make it safe and thereby let people back into their homes as soon as possible,” he said.

After speaking with residents, Ulster Unionist Party MLA Mike Nesbitt, said ”one of the biggest issues is pets”.

“There’s a lot of people who are still in Rivenwood trying to decide whether they’ll breach the police cordon, because they’re concerned about their pets in the short term,” he said.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#damage #homes

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up