'Old manhole cover' among mystery objects uncovered in Plymouth car park

An old manhole cover is among the mystery objects excavated from a Plymouth car park on Monday 18 November.

Plymouth City Council had warned people in the Millbay area that they may need to leave their homes while the objects were removed.

In a statement, the council added: "Whilst it is thought that the items are most likely reinforced concrete, or pieces of railway track, [we are] planning for all eventualities. Just in case."

Digging got underway at a patch of disused land between Bath Street and Martin Street.

By around 12pm both objects had been excavated and an unexploded ordnance engineer was able to tell ITV News West Country what they had found.

Shane Moore, from Brimstone Site Investigations, said: "We needed to be slow and methodical, because of the risk of what potentially we could find.

"When we were using the digger, it was with slow, very shallow scrapes and we were all there to tell the digger driver to stop if we saw anything metallic.

"So there were two site anomalies that we needed to check. The first had a concrete slab that they were unaware of on the plans.

"Underneath that there was a lot of rebar, which is what is used to build a concrete slab. So we deemed that hole safe once we got past the depth that the signal was at.

"And the hole around the back we just found an 8x6 steel plate and an old manhole cover, which was giving off a big signal on our sensors."

Residents were warned a cordon might be needed

In a statement released before excavations began, Plymouth City Council said: "Whilst it is thought that the items are most likely reinforced concrete, or pieces of railway track, [we are] planning for all eventualities. Just in case."

"There is a chance a cordon may need to be put in place, so Millbay residents who will be away from home on Monday morning have been advised to take everything they need with them for the day.

"Should the experts find that one or both items are not simply pieces of metal, they will need to assess the objects and determine how best to dispose of them."

Councillor Sally Haydon, Plymouth City Council cabinet member for community safety, said: “As I said a few weeks ago, we don’t know what is under the ground in Millbay. Most likely it will be some reinforced concrete.

“However, as we need to be prepared for all possibilities, we are letting people know in advance. If our experts find anything that requires dealing with, they will consider whether a cordon is needed while they make the item safe."