Roads shut after WW2 UXB found near Sultan
By Connor Steel
ONE of Gosport’s main road arteries was shut for two hours on Wednesday (September 29) following the discovery of an unexploded device, believed to date from World War Two, on land near HMS Sultan.
After the alarm was raised at approximately 12noon, police quickly sealed off Miltary Road in both directions. Cambridge Road and Redhouse Park Gardens were also closed to allow investigators to attend.
A cordon was put in place with all vehicles, cycles and pedestrians not permitted to cross, while local residents were warned to avoid the affected areas until further notice to ensure their safety .
The roads were reopened after the object was deemed safe by investigators including police and Miltary of Defence officals, with a notice posted on social media. The cordon was lifted for traffic by 2.30pm.
Despite the panic a spokesman for HMS Sultan said the item was harmless. He told Portsmouth News journalist Tom Cotterill on Wednesday afternoon: “We can confirm that ordnance was discovered at HMS Sultan. A Royal Navy bomb disposal team was called into conduct an investigation. Working in conjunction with Hampshire Constabulary, HMS Sultan took the decision to close Military Road.
“Upon investigation the items were identified as empty Second World War shells and as they posed no risk, Military Road was promptly reopened.”
As yet there has been no additional information by Hampshire Police, who had to deal with another incident causing rush hour traffic to build on major roads and which coincided with the continuing filling station queues seen this week.
A broken down bus blocked traffic for several hours at the junction of Lederle Lane (KFC/Fleetlands FC) on the A32 Fareham Road, with the double decker not removed until after 8.30pm. It had developed a fault at approximately 3pm. Queues began to build on surrounding roads during the early evening rush hour, with police in Gosport advising people to avoid the area and diverting traffic away from the scene while the recovery operation was under way.
Other disruptions seen in recent days have included roadworks on the M27, a road traffic accident on Monday that saw delays of an hour into Fareham and long queues for fuel across both boroughs.
