Suspected mortar shell found in road close to Gatwick Airport

The area was cordoned off following the discovery

Author: Ryan BurrowsPublished 26th Feb 2021

A suspected mortar has been removed after it was discovered by a road close to Gatwick Airport's runway.

Explosives ordnance experts were called out at just after 3.30am on Thursday (February 25th) after the item was discovered by a police dog unit patrol in Charlwood Road in Crawley.

The device was described by one emergency service worker as possibly "Second World War ordnance".

Officers said they placed a 100-metre cordon around the device as a safety precaution.

X-rays of the device carried out by staff from the Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team revealed the object was not live, with it then being removed and the cordon lifted.

No flights in or out of the West Sussex airport are understood to have been affected.

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