A former munitions factory being demolished for housing in Eccles has been evacuated after workers found what they thought was an unexploded bomb.
Army bomb disposal experts were called to the former Patricroft Royal Ordnance factory (known locally as the ROF) on Green Lane, halfway between Patricroft and Monton.
All workers were ordered to leave the site and as a precaution structural engineers asked everyone still on site to turn off their mobile phones.
At around 10.20am this morning, Friday 6 November, builders unearthed what they believed to be a live, undetonated Second World War mortar shell.
Police erected a safety cordon of 1000 yards, closing Green Lane between the railway bridge and Monton roundabout.
The road was closed for nearly two hours while Explosive Ordinance Disposal experts assess the device.
Trains are still being allowed to stop at Patricroft station but pedestrians and drivers are being stopped before the railway bridge.
Traffic from Monton was diverted down Canal Bank towards Winton, while traffic coming from Eccles diverted down Cromwell Road.
Workers at the nearby James Nasmyth industrial estate over the other side of Green Lane were not being allowed to leave until the bomb was safely dismantled.
The Queen’s Arms pub at the top of Green Lane overlooking the ROF site was also evacuated.
Landlady Lynn Benson told SalfordOnline.com: “Police came to the pub and told us to evacuate as soon as possible.
“They are awaiting bomb disposal units at the moment.
“We have not been given a time when we’ll be able to return.
“This has come as a great shock to us all.”
Countryside Properties are undertaking excavation work on the former factory to build 40 one-bed flats, 24 two-bed flats, 25 two-bed houses.
The former Royal Ordnance Factory off Green Lane was vitally important during the Second World War, employing 3,000 people to manufacture parts for large-calibre guns and tanks.
It was taken over by BAE Systems and continued to produce parts for missiles and other weaponry but closed in the late 1980s.
12.25pm Update: Bomb disposal experts have discovered that the suspected mortar shell is a ‘non-explosive device’.
Road closures on Green Lane have now been lifted and traffic is being allowed to pass the ROF site.
Workers will also be allowed to leave James Nasmyth industrial estate, and evacuated residents will be allowed to return home.
