British town’s playground reopens months after 176 bombs were found during repair work

The children of Wooler, United Kingdom, were able to enjoy a newly reopened playground Friday, months after workers renovating the site uncovered a cache of 176 World War II bombs.

The bombs were found in January; the site of the playground was used to store munitions and for other purposes during World War II. The repair work was delayed as a result, and local officials had to call in a specialized company to remove the explosives.

The ordinance were practice bombs but still had a charge, the Wooler Parish Council said in a release.

“What we noticed is that they were uniformly placed and stacked in rows. It was clearly done carefully and deliberately,” Adam Tanner, associate director of the Brimstone company that specializes in removing wartime explosives, told the BBC.

While a local councillor believed the bombs were put there as part of training the Home Guard citizen militia during the war, others think the practice bombs were related to the Royal Air Force.

“This was a really important training area for the military and well-defended. There were 2,000 military personnel stationed at RAF Milfield north of Wooler alone,” historian Alan Sture told the BBC.

In all, the repair work prior to Friday’s reopening cost about 150,000 pounds ($203,325) according to the Northumberland Gazette.