Police discover unexploded Second World War bomb in no-deal Brexit lorry car park
An unexploded bomb from World War Two has been found in the abandoned airport that is to be used as a lorry car park in a no-deal Brexit.
Read more: ‘Wrecking ball’: Grayling refuses to resign over £33m Eurotunnel fiasco
Police and army bomb disposal experts arrived at Kent’s Manston Airport this morning to investigate the ordnance, after people reported the presence of munitions at the site.
Transport secretary Chris Grayling plans to use the site as a spill-over car park for France-bound lorries in the event of a no-deal Brexit, when miles-long tailbacks are expected approaching the port of Dover.
But a Kent Police spokesperson said: “Kent Police was called at 10.42am following the discovery of an unexploded wartime device on the site of the former Manston airport.
“Officers are currently in attendance along with explosives experts from the British Army who are continuing to assess the scene.”
The government has already performed a test run involving Manston Airport as it prepares for a possible no-deal scenario, with the UK scheduled to leave the EU on 29 March with no withdrawal agreement as yet.
Read more: Lorries embark on no-deal Brexit test run to Dover
The trial run in January saw just 90 lorries take part, compared to the 150 signalled by the Department for Transport.
The lorries undertook a 20-mile journey between the airport and the port of Dover in Operation Brock.
A DfT spokesperson said: “We remain confident that Manston Airfield will be ready to use for Operation Brock by March 29.”