Overview
- Royal Navy bomb disposal teams moved the Plymouth SC50 by convoy to King Point Marina and confirmed a successful offshore detonation just before 3am Friday, enabling residents to return.
- Specialists detonated the Exmouth device on the seabed at about 8:13am Friday after cordons were expanded up to 600 metres, with councils estimating about 5,000 people were affected.
- Plymouth City Council ordered an overnight evacuation within 150 metres of the convoy route, affecting around 800 people and closing Millbay Academy, the Moxy Hotel and Ballard House.
- Police, local councils and military EOD units coordinated assessments and transport, including the use of specialist X‑ray equipment to determine the safest approach.
- Evacuation centres supported displaced residents in both towns, and authorities began lifting cordons and road closures once the operations were declared complete.