Controlled explosion in Alyth after gardeners dig up mortar shell
ByNews reporter
There was drama in Alyth on Thursday after a mortar shell was uncovered in a garden.
Shocked landscape gardeners found the device while carrying out work in the town’s Meethill Road.
Police were swiftly on the scene and cordoned it off. They were soon joined by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from Edinburgh, who made the shell safe.
Surrounding roads were closed as the EOD team moved the device to a nearby field where they carried out a controlled explosion.
Police said there were only two residential properties in the area and the device was far enough away from them to mean no evacuations were needed.
A spokesman said, “We received a call from a member of the public at around 3pm to say that a mortar-type article had been found as a garden was being landscaped.
“It was very rusty and very old and measured two-and-a-half inches in width and six inches in length. We closed the road while the controlled explosion took place, but diversions were removed soon after.”
Controlled explosion in Alyth after gardeners dig up mortar shell