Image: UK Crown Copyright 2017

Royal Navy bomb disposal experts detonated an unexploded Second World War bomb today after it was dredged up from the bottom of Portsmouth Harbour.

The German SC250 bomb was found in the early hours of this morning in the excavator head of a barge dredging the harbour – part of a raft of infrastructure upgrades taking place in readiness for the arrival of the Royal Navy’s new 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier.

The entrance to Portsmouth Harbour was closed until around 7.30am as a precaution while the bomb disposal team assessed the swiftest and safest way of removing the device.

This type of Second World War German SC250 bomb weighs 500lb and contains 290lb of high explosives.

Millions of pounds have been spent on works to prepare Portsmouth Naval Base to accommodate the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers – HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

Image: UK Crown Copyright 2017

Dredging operations are under way to deepen the main channel used by shipping in Portsmouth by one metre. New power facilities are also being built, navigational aids installed and jetties upgraded to take the carriers alongside.