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There was a whole lot of kerfuffle in the city last night after an unexploded World War II bomb was dredged up in the River Thames. Passersby caught up in the action described 'post-apocalyptic' scenes as Westminster Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and Victoria Embankment were all shut down at around 6pm in an operation by the Royal Navy and the Met. The Ministry of Defence said they eventually exploded to the bomb in a safe area of the Thames estuary.
WW2 era bomb found under Westminster Bridge - whole area has been sealed off by police #WestminsterBridge pic.twitter.com/yPufjaGD0N
— Tim Swabey (@Timswabes) January 19, 2017
Wonderful post apocalyptic scenes as Waterloo Bridge goes pedestrian-only thanks to an unexploded WWII bomb #waterloobridge #bombscare pic.twitter.com/iJmhb0AOmB
— Rebecca L. Needes (@RhetoricAlley) January 19, 2017
Pls bear with us as we deal with dredged up suspected WWII ordnance #RiverThames #Victoria #Westminster - Road closures in area for safety
— Westminster Police (@MPSWestminster) January 19, 2017
Westminster tube station was shut but has now reopened, as have the bridges, surrounding roads and a section of the river between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge which was closed overnight thanks to the war-time device, which according to the London Port Authority, measured 2ft by 1ft.
View at Victoria Embankment still closed off. #Westminster pic.twitter.com/m9drTTvqWI
— Kris Van de Sande (@krisvandesande) January 19, 2017
Westminster Bridge closed due to unexploded ww2 bomb in the Thames pic.twitter.com/qvAvnPprhL
— Rosie Sobieraj (@Rosiesoapstar) January 19, 2017
Westminster bridge shut after a ww2 bomb was dredged up in the Thames pic.twitter.com/2vRcllcbZy
— Matthew Cowley (@MattCowleyBR) January 19, 2017
The to-do also nearly had a surprising casualty, with the closures threatening to wreck Woody Harrelson's new movie 'Lost in London', which he'd planned to film live in London's streets between 2am and 4am. Fortunately, although some scenes were filmed near Waterloo Bridge, the filming carried on without a hitch – read Time Out's review of the finished product.
In other news, anti-Trump protesters have dropped banners on London's bridges.