Residents return home after WW2 bomb safely defused

The device, weighing 500lb (227kg), was defused and removed from the site in north-west London more than 24 hours after it was first found.

Army bomb disposal teams worked through the night and police set up a large exclusion zone, with schools, businesses and homes evacuated and roads closed.

• Operation to dismantle unexploded WW2 bomb 'to continue until Friday afternoon'

Hundreds of people were affected, with dozens having to be put up in a hotel on Thursday night.

Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent council, praised the community for its "blitz spirit".

• Did a German bomb fall near your house during the Blitz?

The bomb was found buried deep at a site in Brondesbury Park, Brent, where construction workers were preparing to build an apartment block.

British Red Cross volunteers were drafted in to support affected locals following the discovery in The Avenue, near the junction of Willesden Lane.

Police said all cordons have been lifted.