PICTURED: The six-metre Canadian pipe bomb that brought Stubbington to a halt

Portsmouth-based bomb disposal team Southern Diving Unit 2 (SDU2) removed and safely exploded ordnance, found at Solent Airport yesterday afternoon.

The object – identified as a Canadian pipe bomb – was removed from the ground at the former HMS Daedalus site in Lee-on-the-Solent early this morning.

It was then taken to Browndown Range in Gosport and destroyed at 7.30am.

Speaking about the device – which emerged during construction work for a new sub station on Swordfish Business Park – lieutenant commander Jonny Campbell said: ‘Since Canadian pipe bombs are known to be potentially hazardous, a cordon and evacuation plan was implemented while trying to minimise disruption but maximise public safety. 

‘Investigation work including metal detection, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and careful exploitation of the item continued all the way through the night, challenging the team to complete the task safely and quickly.’

After the device was detonated, road closures put in place at Stubbington Lane, Croft Lane and Sea Lane were lifted and Solent Airport was re-opened at 10am yesterday.

The bomb is believed to be one of many anti-invasion weapons installed at the site, which would have been exploded during war to deny the enemy use of the airfield.