Army bomb disposal experts were removing an unexploded bomb from a Sunderland housing estate on Wednesday night, and taking it to a nearby beach for a controlled detonation.

The unexploded World War II bomb was being moved to a point known as Salterfen Rocks, after the device's fuse had been treated and made safe by the team.

There are not many homes in the area, and householders in the few buildings nearby were warned to open their windows to minimise any shockwave effects.

Police say if a controlled explosion had been carried out in Suffolk Street, Sunderland, where the bomb was found, there would have been damage caused to nearby properties.

Mechanical digger

On Wednesday night officers warned people in a 500m radius of the beach area that they would hear a loud bang when the device was detonated.

Householders were also told to keep out of rooms facing in the direction of the beach.

The warning was given to homes east of Ryhope Road, north of Acklam Avenue, and south of Grange Street adjacent to Ocean Road.

The 450kg bomb was found by builders on Monday in the grounds of a medical centre in the Hendon area.

German bomber

More than 2,000 people spent two nights away from home after a 400m exclusion zone was imposed.

A further 1,000 people refused to move, despite police appeals and warnings that the 60-year-old bomb is unstable.

The bomb was accidentally reactivated after being dug up by workmen using a mechanical digger.

The device, the size of an oil drum, is thought to have been dropped by a German Heinkel bomber in 1940.