Video shows moment wartime bomb explodes in Great Yarmouth
Norfolk Police said no one was injured in the explosion (image and drone footage: Norfolk Police/Twitter).
Footage has revealed the full scale of a huge World War Two bomb explosion in Norfolk.
The 'unplanned detonation' in Great Yarmouth happened on Friday just before 5pm after three days of work by army specialists to diffuse the device.
ITV News Anglia captured the moment the deafening blast occurred, with an orange fireball visible and debris flung into the air.
Norfolk Police released drone footage of the explosion and confirmed no one was injured.
People living in the town reported their windows being shaken by the blast.
Police told residents they could return to their homes on Friday evening, after days and nights of disruption.
Norfolk Constabulary's Assistant Chief Constable Nick Davison said mitigation measures had been put in place to guard against the impact of an unintended detonation.
“The device detonated shortly after work had started to disarm the device," he said.
"The approach had been the safest option to disarm the device, however, it always carried a risk of unintended detonation.
“Thankfully, all personnel have been accounted for and agencies are coming together to assess damage to the river wall.”
ITV News Anglia reporter Rob Setchell's report from the scene of the explosion on Friday (Image: Norfolk Police/Twitter)
The team in charge had abandoned attempts to cut through the bomb's outer casing earlier on Friday afternoon, as water from the operation was destabilising the sand barrier built around the 250kg device.
Bomb disposal teams then started on what they said was the "one option" left to them - of slowly burning off the explosive in the hope of making the bomb safe.
But they warned that the operation carried a risk of an "extremely large blast", and warned people to stay outside the 200m cordon.
Jack Onyett, who lives opposite the quay where the bomb went off, said it was a "very scary" experience.
“When it went off I was a bit worried because my house is so close. I was more worried about my house going up.
"Now it’s all over hopefully we can get back in the next few hours.
"It was very scary. Not many people have seen a World War Two bomb blow up and it was very scary.”
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